International  Conciliation 

America  M,lli^,^°M.I,^.^™,,^.^.G'0.'!{A.':.L'BRARY  FACILITY 

Entered 

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THE  CONSTITUTION 

OF  THE 

CZECHO-SLOVAK  REPUBLIC 

WITH  INTRODUCTIONS  BY 

JIRI  HOETZL  and  V.  JOACHIM 


OCTOBER,   1922 
No.  179 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  INTERNATIONAL  CONCILIATION 

EDITORIAL  OFFICE:    407  WEST  II7TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY 

PUBLICATION  office:   GREENWICH,  CONN. 


It  is  the  aim  of  the  Association  for  International  Con- 
ciliation to  awaken  interest  and  to  seek  cooperation  in 
the  movement  to  promote  international  good  will.  This 
movement  depends  for  its  ultimate  success  upon  in- 
creased international  understanding,  appreciation,  and 
sympathy.  To  this  end,  documents  are  printed  and 
widely  circulated,  giving  information  as  to  the  progress 
of  the  movement  and  as  to  matters  connected  therewith, 
in  order  that  individual  citizens,  the  newspaper  press, 
and  organizations  of  various  kinds  may  have  accurate 
information  on  these  subjects  readily  available. 

The  Association  endeavors  to  avoid,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, contentious  questions,  and  in  particular  questions 
relating  to  the  domestic  policy  of  any  given  nation. 
Attention  is  to  be  fixed  rather  upon  those  underlying 
principles  of  international  law,  international  conduct, 
and  international  organization,  which  must  be  agreed 
upon  and  enforced  by  all  nations  if  peaceful  civiliza- 
tion is  to  continue  and  to  be  advanced.  A  list  of  pub- 
lications will  be  found  on  page  86. 


Subscription  rate:  Twenty-five  cents  for  one  year,  or 
one  dollar  for  five  years. 


CONTENTS 

I.   The    Definitive    Constitution    of    the    Czecho- 
slovak Republic,  by  Dn.  JiSi  Hoetzl 5 

fl.   Rules  of  Franchise;  the  Constitutional  Court, 

by  V.  Joachim ^^ 

CONSTITUTIONAL  LAWS 

ni.    The  Law  of  February  29,  1920 31 

IV.   The    Constitutional    Charter    of    the    Czecho- 
slovak Republic 


V.  Act  of  February  29,  1920,  EsTAiJLisiiiNG  the  Princi- 
ples of  Language  Rights  within  the  Czecho- 
slovak Republic 


35 


74 


VL  Act  of  February  29,  1920,  Setting  Forth  the  Con- 
stitution AND  Jurisdiction  of  the  Senate  ...     80 


"      379 


UCSB  LIBRARY  , 


f\U 


THE    DEFINITIVE   CONSTITUTION    OF   THE 
CZECHOSLOVAK  REPUBLIC 

By  Dr.  Jiri  Hoetzl 

The  National  Assembly  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re- 
iniblic — a  body  which  was  the  product  of  the  Revolu- 
tion— determined,  by  an  enactment  dated  Febru- 
ary 29,  1920,  on  the  definitive  Constitution  of  the 
land.  Conditions  resulting  from  the  war  prevented 
this  Constitution  being  elaborated  with  the  parlia- 
mentary co-operation  of  non-Czech  citizens  of  the 
Republic  (i.  e.  Germans  and  Magyars),  particularly 
as  the  frontiers  of  our  state  had  not  at  all  points  as 
yet  been  finally  determined  upon.  The  National 
Assembly,  with  due  regard  to  this  fact,  endeavored 
to  elaborate  a  Constitution  which  should  be  both 
just  and  impartial,  so  that  our  state  might  in  all 
honor  defend  it  against  criticism  however  severe — 
a  criticism  taking  just  account  of  all  attendant  cir- 
cumstances. 

The  Charter  of  the  Constitution  expressly  declares 
the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  to  be  a  democratic  repub- 
lic. It  is  a  unified,  not  a  federative  state.  Only  the 
territory  of  Russinia  (Podkarpatska  Rus)  enjoys  a 
special  position  in  regard  of  public  rights,  defined  in 
Par.  3  of  the  Charter.  By  these  provisions,  the  Treaty 
of  St.  Germain-en-Laye  (Articles  10-13)  made  on 
September  10,  1919,  between  the  Allied  and  Asso- 
ciated Powers  of  the  one  part  and  the  Czecho-Slovak 

[5] 


380 

Republic  of  the  other  part,  has  been  carried  into  effect 
within  the  state  itself.  The  Czecho-Slovak  Republic, 
it  is  true,  was  under  no  obligation  according  to  Article 
I  of  the  said  treaty,  to  declare  the  Articles  10-13  as 
fundamental  (constitutional)  articles.  By  doing  so  in 
Par.  3  of  the  Charter  the  Republic  clearly  shows  that 
she  desires  fully  to  guarantee  the  autonomous  existence 
of  the  territory  of  Russinia.  Our  Republic  has  done 
more  than  its  international  duty,  not  only  formally 
but  also  de  facto,  in  admitting  the  members  of  the 
National  Assembly  (deputies  and  senators)  elected  in 
Russinia,  to  full  rights  of  discussion,  of  voting  and 
participation  in  all  acts  of  the  National  Assembly, 
although  Article  13  of  the  Treaty  of  St.  Germain  lays 
down:  "Toutefois  ces  deputes  ne  jouiront  pas  du  droit 
de  vote  dans  la  Diete  Tchecoslovaque  en  toutes 
matieres  legislatives  du  meme  ordre  que  celle  at- 
tribuces  a  la  Diete  ruthene." 

The  organization  of  the  territory  of  Russinia  is 
being  carried  out  and  is  facilitated  by  Section  8  of 
Par.  3  of  the  Constitutional  Charter.  The  unity  of 
our  state  recognized  inter  alia  in  Article  10  of  the 
Treaty  of  St.  Germain,  is  emphasized  in  Par.  4,  accord- 
ing to  which,  citizenship  of  the  Republic  is  one  and 
uniform. 

At  the  head  of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution 
stands  the  principle  that:  "The  people  is  the  sole 
fountain  of  state  authority  in  the  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic." 

The  Charter  does  not  treat  this  principle  as  a  mere 
formula  but  endeavors  to  give  constitutional  life  to  it, 
limiting  its  application  only  in  cases  where  the  integ- 
rity and  security  of  the  state  categorically  demand 
restrictive  stipulations. 

16] 


38i 

Legislative  power  is  unified — the  autonomous  diet 
of  Russinia  of  course  forms  an  exception.  Our  little 
state  could  not  permit  the  different  provincial  diets, 
previously  existing,  to  continue  their  functions. 
Par.  7,  therefore,  of  the  Charter  declares  the  legisla- 
tive and  executive  powers  of  the  diets  of  Bohemia, 
Moravia  and  Silesia  at  an  end.  The  legislative  body 
(National  Assembly)  is  composed  of  two  chambers: 
the  House  of  Deputies  and  the  Senate.  Both  chambers 
are  elected  by  direct  ballot  on  the  basis  of  democratic 
rules  of  suffrage  which  recognize  the  absolute  equality 
of  both  sexes  (Par.  8-17  of  the  Charter).  The  elections 
take  place  on  the  principles  of  proportional  represen- 
tation carefully  worked  out  to  the  minutest  details. 
A  second  and  a  third  scrutiny  secure  as  perfect  a 
representation  as  is  possible  to  the  weaker  political 
parties.  The  rules  of  franchise  both  for  the  House 
of  Deputies  as  for  the  Senate  draw  no  distinctions  in 
regard  of  race  or  religion;  they  are  equally  just  to  all. 
It  has  been  the  earnest  endeavor  of  our  state  to  apply, 
in  all  its  consequences,  the  principle  expressed  in  Sec- 
tion I  of  Article  7  of  the  Treaty  of  St.  Germain  (Par. 
128,  Section  i  of  the  Constitutional  Charter).  Our  state 
has  also  conscientiously  applied  this  principle  in  draw- 
ing up  the  rules  of  franchise. 

It  is  important  to  note,  too,  that  our  rules  of 
franchise  are  totally  devoid  of  all  that  electoral 
trickery  so  characteristic  of  the  Austrian  franchise. 
A  proportionately  large  number  of  seats  has  been,  it 
is  true,  given  to  the  constituency  of  Prague,  but  this  is 
explained  by  the  fact  that,  on  the  one  hand,  thiselectoral 
district  contains  the  capital  of  the  Republic  with  its 
enormous  possibilities  of  development  and  that,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  district  was  purposely  neglected 


382 

by  the  Austro-German  Governments.  It  is  absolutely 
certain  that  the  large  influx  of  population  continually 
going  on  will  result  in  a  large  increase  in  the  number 
of  inhabitants.  The  rules  of  franchise,  calculated  to 
cover  a  long  period  of  time,  had  to  be  adapted  to  these 
facts  and  circumstances.  As  to  the  technical  aspect 
of  electoral  procedure,  great  care  has  been  taken  to 
secure  that  every  elector  may  record  his  vote  without 
suffering  from  any  outside  constraint  whatsoever. 
Here,  too,  all  persons  are  treated  exactly  alike,  no  re- 
gard being  paid  to  difference  of  race  or  religion. 

Great  care  has  been  bestowed  upon  the  organization 
of  the  legislative  body.  Tough  political  fights  ended 
in  compromise  and  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  emerged 
as  the  political  factor  par  excellence.  It  is  this  cham- 
ber alone  that,  by  a  vote  of  non-confidence,  can  compel 
the  resignation  of  the  government  (Par.  75  and  78 
of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution).  The  Senate,  on 
the  other  hand,  exercises  rather  the  functions  of 
amendment  and  moderation.  The  age-limit  prescribed 
for  eligibility  to  the  Senate  (forty-five  years)  is  a 
guarantee  that  this  chamber  will  be  composed  of 
members  of  experience  and  judgment.  As  an  offset  to 
this  somewhat  high  passive  age-limit,  the  active  fran- 
chise is  enjoyed  by  all  citizens  who  have  attained  the 
age  of  twenty-six  years  (and  not  thirty  as  was  proposed 
in  many  quarters).  The  reciprocal  relations  of  the  two 
chambers  in  respect  of  lawmaking — as  determined 
by  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  after  protracted 
struggles  and  discussions — do  not  follow  the  lines  of 
those  of  any  other  country.  In  principle  the  two 
chambers  are  in  so  far  equal  that  they  both  enjoy  the 
right  of  initiative,  and  that  even  government  bills 
may  be  first  introduced  in  either  house.    Only  in  the 

[8] 


383 

case  of  budget  and  army  bills  must  the  measures 
first  pass  through  the  House  of  Deputies.  On  the 
whole  it  may  confidently  be  said  that  more  discipline 
and  conservatism  have  been  introduced  into  the  legis- 
lative labors  of  the  new  National  Assembly  and  cer- 
tainly more  settled  economic  and  political  conditions 
in  Europe  generally  will  contribute  also  thereto. 

It  is  naturally  of  the  greatest  importance  to  our 
state  that  all  parliamentary  work  should  take  an  un- 
disturbed and  effective  course.  Much  care  has  there- 
fore been  devoted  to  the  elaboration  of  rules  of 
procedure.  It  is  particularly  worthy  of  notice  that 
these  rules  concede  to  racial  minorities  within  the 
state  the  maximum  of  rights  compatible  with  the 
practical  working  of  the  parliamentary  machine.  A 
comparison  with  the  conditions  existing  in  the  former 
parliaments  of  Vienna  and  Budapest  will  show  how 
infinitely  better  is  the  lot  of  the  racial  minorities  in  our 
Republic  than  was  the  lot  of  the  Czechs  and  Slovaks 
under  the  old  regime  at  Vienna  and  Budapest.  At 
the  same  time,  it  was  necessary  that  the  rules  of 
procedure  should  keep  in  check,  if  not  render  abso- 
lutely impossible,  all  malicious  attempts  to  frustrate 
the  practical  labors  of  Parliament. 

The  democratic  spirit  of  our  Constitution  is  like- 
wise shown  in  Par.  54  of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. This  paragraph  provides  for  the  setting  up  of  a 
permanent  committee — two-thirds  of  the  members 
of  which  are  taken  from  the  House  of  Deputies  and 
one-third  from  the  Senate — which  shall  take  the  place 
of  the  National  Assembly  when  the  latter  is  unable  to 
sit.  Governmental  and  executive  authority  is  thus,  in 
principle,  devoid  of  such  power  as  was  possessed,  for 
example,  by  the  Government  of  the  former  Austrian 

I9] 


384 

Empire  in  virtue  of  the  notorious  Article  XIV  of  the 
law  relating  to  the  representation  of  the  Empire. 
The  Charter  of  the  Constitution  docs  not  permit  the 
government  of  our  state  to  remain  for  one  moment 
without  the  control,  nor  yet  without  the  aid  of  the 
legislative  body. 

The  President  of  the  Republic,  it  is  true,  has  been 
conceded  certain  prerogatives  in  respect  of  the  Na- 
tional Assembly;  it  is  he  who  convokes,  prorogues, 
terminates,  and  dissolves  Parliament;  but  strict  limits 
have  been  set,  in  the  interests  of  Parliament,  to  these 
prerogatives  (Par.  28-31  of  the  Charter  of  the  Con- 
stitution). The  President  is  bound  to  convoke  Parlia- 
ment at  least  twice  a  year  to  regular  sessions;  besides 
which  he  may  summon  it  to  extraordinary  sessions 
if  need  be.  On  the  request  of  a  qualified  majority  of 
either  chamber,  both  chambers  assemble,  if  necessary 
automatically,  at  the  summons  of  their  respective 
presidents,  without  regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Republic.  The  Charter  of  the  Constitu- 
tion protects  in  this  matter  even  parliamentary  mi- 
norities, for  they  too  have  the  right  to  demand  the 
convocation  of  Parliament  and  if  the  President  of  the 
Republic  takes  no  steps  to  this  end  the  Parliament 
meets  automatically  within  a  certain  period  on  the 
summons  of  its  presidents.  This  provision  (Par.  28 
of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution)  proves  how  our 
state  protects  a  minority  in  a  sphere  so  sensitive  as 
is  that  of  Parliament.  A  minority  has  the  right  to 
compel  the  summoning  of  Parliament! 

The  President  of  the  Republic  is  entitled  to  return, 
with  his  observation  thereon,  any  law  passed  by  the 
National  Assembly  (Par.  47  of  the  Charter  of  the  Con- 
i.titution).    In  spite  of  the  veto  of  the  President  the 


385 

Assembly  may  promulgate  the  law  in  its  original  form 
with  the  assent  of  an  absolute  majority  of  both  houses 
(or  otherwise  under  the  special  conditions  set  out  in 
Par.  48  of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution). 

It  is  appropriate  here  to  point  out  that  the  Charter 
of  the  Constitution  is  placed  in  its  entirety  under  the 
special  and  effective  protection  of  a  Constitutional 
Court.  It  is  intended  that  the  Charter  of  the  Consti- 
tution be  the  foundation  stone  of  the  w^hole  life  of  the 
state,  the  fountain  of  the  rights  of  all  citizens.  An 
ordinary  law  may  not  conflict  with  the  Constitution 
without  becoming  null  and  void.  The  judgment  of  the 
Constitutional  Court  declaring  a  law  invalid  causes 
it  or  its  defective  part  to  lose  its  binding  force  for  the 
future.  This  institution  likewise  serves  as  a  protection 
of  the  rights  of  minorities  whether  racial  or  religious. 

In  this  connection  may  be  also  noted  the  provision 
of  Par.  55  of  the  Charter,  stipulating  that  government 
decrees  (by-laws)  may  be  issued  only  on  the  basis  of 
a  law  and  within  its  terms.  The  power  to  issue  orders 
"practer  legem,  as  exercised,  for  instance,  in  France," 
does  not  exist  here.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  courts  to  see 
that  this  principle  is  duly  observed  (Par.  102  of  the 
Charter  of  the  Constitution)  and  they  have  power  to 
declare  as  null  and  void  every  decree  or  by-law  which 
does  not  conform  to  the  law. 

GOVERNMENTAL  AND  EXECUTIVE  POWER 

This  power  in  its  highest  aspects  is  shared  between 
the  President  of  the  Republic  and  the  government. 
The  election  of  the  President  is  indirect,  that  is,  he  is 
chosen  by  the  two  chambers  of  Parliament  assembled 
in  united  session.   The  President  enjoys  such  govern- 


386 

mental  and  executive  power  as  is  expressly  assigned 
to  him  by  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  or  by  other 
laws  of  the  Republic;  all  other  governmental  and 
executive  power  rests  in  the  hands  of  the  government. 
The  functions  of  the  President  as  set  out  in  Par.  64  of 
the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  are  very  comprehen- 
sive and  effective  and  enable  the  President  to  exercise 
a  great  influence  on  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the 
state,  without  at  the  same  time  burdening  him  with 
details.  As  the  President  of  the  Republic  is  not 
responsible  at  law  for  his  political  acts  (except  as  set 
forth  in  §  67  of  the  Charter),  governmental  and  execu- 
tive power  has  been  in  principle  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  responsible  factors,  that  is,  the  government. 
The  Constitution  expressly  introduces  the  principle 
of  collective  responsibility  of  the  government  (Par.  75 
and  78  of  the  Charter).  A  characteristic  feature  of 
our  Constitution  is  the  effort  to  secure  that  all  the 
more  important  matters  of  government  be  settled  in  a 
council  of  ministers,  a  cabinet  meeting  (Par.  80  and  81 
of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution),  the  idea  being  to 
render  it  impossible  for  an  individual  minister  to 
abuse  his  position.  This  effort,  as  evidenced  by  the 
Charter  of  the  Constitution,  to  ensure  a  collective 
and  corporate  discussion  and  action  in  the  affairs  of 
government,  goes  so  far  as  to  deny  to  ministers  the 
right  of  appointing  civil  servants  of  the  seventh  and 
eighth  classes.  These  provisions,  too,  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Charter  are  a  protection  to  miinorities  and 
aim  at  assuring  an  undisturbed  and  responsible  con- 
duct of  the  affairs  of  government. 

Democratization  among  us  is  not  confined  to  legis- 
lative authority;  one  of  our  great  tasks  is  the  democ- 
ratization of  the  public  administration,  and   to  this 

[12] 


387 

work  the  foundations  have  been  laid  by  Par.  86  of  the 
Charter,  where  it  is  laid  down  that  the  civic  element 
shall  as  far  as  possible  be  represented  in  the  subord- 
inate offices  of  state.    The  law  creating  special  admin- 
istrative bodies  for  the  counties  (zupy)  and  the  dis- 
tricts (okresy)  represents  an  effort  to  put  this  con- 
stitutional principle  into  practice.    It  is  a  bold  step 
+  owards  reorganizing  public  administration  in  a  more 
democratic  direction.    The  civic  element  thus  partic- 
ipates in  all  political  administration   (interior)   in  the 
subordinate    offices    (ministries    are    an    exception). 
This  participation  is  particularly  conspicuous  in  the 
organization  of  the  administrative  courts  {contentieux 
a  priori  et  a  posteriori),  where  it  is  a  matter  of  the 
protection  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  citizens.  The 
Czecho-Slovak  Republic  has  in  this  way  introduced  for 
us  a  new  kind  of  autonomy,  giving  even  racial  and 
religious  minorities  the  opportunity  of  collaborating 
in  the  management  of  their  own  affairs,  or  indeed  of 
settling  the  same  themselves.    Such  collaboration  or 
power  of  settlement  will  have  a  great  importance  for 
the  solution  of  the  problem  of  minorities  generally 
(Par.  133  of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution).  We  have 
often  been  asked  whether  we  have  not  gone  too  far  in 
our  efforts  at  democratization.   It  was  necessary,  how- 
ever, to  proceed  energetically  towards  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  the  administration  as  it  was  bequeathed  to  us 
by  Austria.   Much  will  depend  on  the  maturity  of  our 
people,  which  is  now  favorably  influenced  by  the  fact 
that  all  citizens  may  at  last  participate  in  the  public 
administration. 

The  good  quality  of  administration  does  not  depend 
only  on  the  good  quality  of  juridical  rules;  in  reality 
everything   depends   on   the    moral   and    intellectual 

I13I 


388 

qualities  of  those  who  are  charged  with  the  adminis- 
tration. Every  state  has  to  take  measures  which  in 
this  respect  have  a  preventive  or  repressive  effect. 
The  most  effective  measure  here  is  the  duty  imposed 
on  a  state  official  or  on  the  state  itself  to  make  good 
any  damage  caused  to  a  citizen  through  the  illegal 
exercise  of  public  power.  In  this  regard  our  Republic 
has  had  in  mind  the  examples  especially  of  France  and 
England,  and  has  determined  this  question  by  special 
enactments,  hoping  thus  to  assure  a  just  application 
of  juridical  rules  for  the  benefit  of  all  citizens  generally 
and  of  minorities  in  particular.  Paragraphs  92  and 
93  of  the  Constitutional  Charter  form  the  basis  of 
these  measures,  to  which  effect  will  be  given  as  soon  as 
conditions  become  normal  again. 

A  special  section  (Section  V)  of  the  Charter  of  the 
Constitution  is  devoted  to  the  so-called  fundamental 
rights  and  liberties  of  citizens.  The  enumeration  of 
them  is  much  more  comprehensive  than  is  usual  in 
Constitutional  Charters  and  emphasis  has  been  given 
to  certain  matters,  the  importance  of  which  was  mani- 
fest in  what  was  formerly  Austria.  Privileges  derived 
from  sex,  birth  or  calling  are  not  recognized;  private 
ownership  is  inviolable,  Par.  109  of  the  Charter  declar- 
ing that  private  ownership  may  be  limited  or  abolished 
only  by  law,  that  is,  not  by  any  mere  executive  measure. 
All  these  rights  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  are 
protected,  by  the  Supreme  Administrative  Court,  a 
court  which,  in  the  technical  sense,  sees  to  the  legality 
of  the  public  administration  when  claims  or  complaints 
are  advanced  from  any  quarter.  Our  state  is  thus 
fitted  out  with  all  the  attributes  and  means  of  a  state 
based  upon  right.  That  it  is  possible  in  certain  cases 
to  limit  by  an  ordinary  law  the  rights  and  liberties 

I14] 


389 

guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  or  even,  in  circumstan- 
ces of  some  extraordinary  nature,  to  suspend  these 
rights  partially  or  completely,  is  nothing  new.  We  meet 
with  the  same  thing  in  other  democratic  republics. 

Section  VI  of  the  Constitutional  Charter  deals  with 
the  protection  of  racial  and  religious  minorities  (section 
2  of  Par.  io6  and  Par.  122  of  the  Charter  treat  also  of 
this  matter).  Our  Constitution  has  adopted  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  Treaty  of  St.  Germain  relative  hereto 
and  has  gone  further  than  our  international  engage- 
ments require,  in  declaring  Par.  131  and  132  of  the 
Charter,  as  fundamental  (constitutional)  articles, 
though  the  Treaty  of  Saint  Germain  in  no  way  re- 
quires this.  Here  again  our  state  desired  to  give  a 
proof  of  its  good  will  to  settle  the  rights  of  minorities 
with  perfect  equity.  This  was  also  the  case  with  regard 
to  the  provisions  in  the  Constitution  as  to  the  use  of 
languages  where  our  scrupulous  desire  to  fulfil  our 
international  engagements  went  so  far  as  to  cause  us 
to  adopt  the  very  terminology  of  the  conclusion  of 
Article  4  of  the  Treaty  of  St.  Germain,  the  Czecho- 
slovak language  being  designated  as  the  state,  offi- 
cial language  {langiie  d'Etat,  langue  officieUe). 

It  is  clear  to  every  unbiased  observer  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Constitution  relating  to  language  arc 
permeated  both  in  letter  and  in  spirit  with  the  idea 
of  perfect  justice.  The  view  that  the  Treaty  of  St. 
Germain  prohibits  the  limitation  of  the  language 
rights  of  minorities  to  a  certain  percentage  of  those 
minorities  or  to  a  certain  area,  is  not  supported  by  the 
Treaty  of  St.  Germain  itself  (Article  7,  Section  4).  The 
Charter  of  the  Constitution  declares  solemnly  in  its 
134th  paragraph  that  every  species  of  forcible  de- 
nationalization is  strictly  forbidden. 

I15] 


390 

To  sum  up,  it  may  be  said  that  the  definitive  Con- 
stitution of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Repubhc  aims  at  being 
the  democratic  and  just  basis  of  pubHc  hfe  in  our 
state.  It  is  a  matter  then,  especially  for  our  minorities, 
racial  and  religious,  loyally  to  acknowledge  these  good 
traits  and  aims  of  our  Constitution  and  to  act  accord- 
ingly. 


i6 


391 


II 

RULES  OF  FRANCHISE 
THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  COURT 

By  V.  Joachim 

ELECTIONS  TO  THE  CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES 

(Act  of  Parliament  of  29  February  1920.   No.  123  in  tlie  Code  of  Laws  and 
Regulations.) 

There  are  twenty-three  parHamentary  constituencies, 
the  smallest  of  which  elect  six  members,  the  largest 
(Prague)  forty-five. 

The  right  to  vote  Is  enjoyed  by  every  citizen 
who  has  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years 
and  who  is  entered  on  the  standing  list  of  voters  (see 
below) . 

A  voter  has  the  right  to  vote  only  in  one  constitu- 
ency and  must  record  his  vote  in  person. 

Any  citizen  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic,  irrespec- 
tive of  sex,  who  on  the  day  of  election  has  attained  the 
age  of  thirty  years  may  be  elected  deputy,  provided 
that  he  (or  she)  has  been  a  Czecho-Slovak  citizen  for  at 
least  three  years  and  has  not  been  legally  deprived  by 
the  Court  of  the  right  to  vote. 

Every  voter  entered  upon  the  list  of  voters  is 
obliged  to  vote;  an  exception,  however,  is  made  in 
favor  of  persons  seventy  years  of  age  and  over,  sick 
persons,  etc.  (whoever,  without  reasonable  grounds  of 
excuse,  fails  to  take  part  in  an  election  is  liable  to  a 
fine  of  twenty  to   5000  crowns  or  to  a  term  of   im- 

I17] 


392 

prisonment  varying    from    twenty-four    hours  to  one 
month). 


Twenty-one  days  at  the  latest  before  the  election 
day  and  not  later  than  12  o'clock  noon  the  various 
political  parties  present  to  the  chairman  of  the 
election  committee  of  the  constituency  their  lists 
of  candidates.  Such  lists  are  only  valid  if  they  are 
attested  by  the  officially  confirmed  signatures  of  at 
least  one  hundred  voters  whose  names  appear  on  the 
list  of  voters  for  the  particular  constituency. 

To  each  list  of  candidates  there  must  be  annexed  a 
written  declaration,  personally  signed  by  all  the  can- 
didates, to  the  effect  that  they  accept  their  nomina- 
tion as  candidates  and  that  their  names  do  not  appear 
with  their  consent  on  any  other  list  of  candidates  and 
that  they  have  not  been  nominated  in  any  other  con- 
stituency. 

The  election  committee  of  the  constituency  exam- 
ines the  lists  of  candidates  to  see  if  they  conform  to 
the  formalities  prescribed  and  to  amend  them,  if 
necessary,  with  the  assistance  of  representatives  of 
the  political  parties. 

Fourteen  days  at  the  least  before  the  election  day 
the  chairman  of  the  election  committee  publishes  in 
the  official  journals  of  the  constituency  all  the  valid 
lists  of  candidates,  indicating  the  parties,  the  election 
number  assigned  to  each,  and  giving  a  complete  and 
exact  designation  of  each  candidate. 

The  lists  of  candidates  are  then  printed  in  the  form 
of  ballot  papers,  all  having  the  same  type  and  the 
same  size  of  lettering,  being  printed  on  paper  of  the 
same  color  and  form  and  having  the  seal  of  the  elec- 

I18J 


393 

tion  committee  of  the  constituency  affixed  to  them 
all  in  the  same  place. 

The  chairman  of  the  election  committee  of  the 
constituency  sends  the  papers  to  the  local  authorities 
In  each  community  with  the  request  to  place  them  in 
the  hands  of  the  electors  three  days  at  the  latest 
before  the  day  of  election. 

The  cost  of  printing  the  ballot  papers  is  met  as 
follows:  Up  to  the  31st  of  December,  1924  the  state 
pays  two-thirds  and  the  political  parties  one-third; 
after  the  31st  of  December,  1924  the  state  pays  one- 
half  and  the  parties  one  half. 

A  party  may,  however,  declare  that  it  does  not 
desire  its  list  of  candidates  (ballot  papers)  to  be  sent 
in  the  official  way  to  the  voters  of  certain  districts,  or 
indeed  of  the  whole  constituency,  and  may  at  the 
same  time  for  these  districts  or  for  the  whole  consti- 
tuency order  a  definite  number  of  official  ballot  papers 
and  place  them  itself  in  the  hands  of  the  electors. 

If  a  party  does  not  deposit  at  the  proper  time  a 
certain  sum  on  account  to  meet  the  expenses  of  print- 
ing, it  is  assumed  that  the  party  has  withdrawn  its 
list  and  retired  from  the  election. 

Printers  or  persons  employed  in  the  printing  trade 
are  obliged  to  carry  out  the  orders  of  the  chairman 
of  the  election  committee  of  any  constituency  issued 
for  the  purpose  of   getting  the   ballot  papers  duly 

printed  in  good  time. 

*     *     * 

Every  township  is  a  place  of  poll.  Elections  take 
place  on  Sundays,  polling  commencing  at  8  o'clock  a.m. 

On  the  day  before  the  elections  and  on  the  polling 
day  itself  it  is  prohibited  to  sell  or  to  serve  drinks 
containing  alcohol. 

[19] 


394 

The  elections  take  place  under  the  direction  of  a 
local  election  committee  composed — as  all  other 
committees  are,  which  assist  at  elections — of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  various  parties. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  election  committee  to  make 
sure  that  every  voter  in  their  district  is  in  possession 
of  all  ballot  papers  which  the  authorities  ought  to 
deliver  to  him  and  to  see  that  they  are  free  from 
erasures  or  markings  of  any  kind.  Where  papers  are 
lacking,  or  have  suffered  erasure  or  been  marked  in 
any  way,  the  committee  sees  to  the  recipients  getting 
others,  so  that  the  voter  shall  have  all  the  lists  of 
candidates  in  so  far  as  they  should  have  been  delivered 
to  him  officially. 

The  voter  receives,  further,  an  official  envelope. 
Every  envelope  Is  of  the  same  size,  quality  and  color, 
and  may  not  carry  any  distinguishing  mark. 

The  voter  himself  places  the  ballot  paper  In  the 
envelope.  He  does  this  In  a  booth  so  arranged  that 
no  one  can  see  him  and  afterwards,  in  the  presence  of 
the  election  committee,  puts  the  envelope  Into  the 
urn.  The  lists  of  candidates  of  which  he  makes  no  use 
he  places  in  a  box  specially  provided  for  the  purpose. 

The  voter  may  place  in  the  urn  the  list  of  candidates 

of  any  party  he  likes. 

*     *     * 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  polling  the  election  com- 
mittee of  the  constituency  makes  a  first  partial  scru- 
tiny, that  Is  to  say,  counts  the  number  of  ballot  papers 
given  for  each  party.  Even  such  lists  of  candidates  on 
which  the  names  of  the  candidates  are  struck  out  or 
altered  are  counted  in  favor  of  the  party  to  which 
they  belong,  so  that  erasure,  or  striking  out  (even 
If  all  names  be  struck  out)  or  alteration  have  no  effect 


395 

whatsoever.  This  is  the  system  of  the  "strictly  bind- 
ing Hsts,"  as  it  is  called. 

On  the  second  day  (the  Tuesday)  following  the  polls 
the  election  committee  of  the  constituency  meets 
and  on  the  basis  of  reports  from  all  the  districts  com- 
posing the  constituency,  carry  out  what  is  called  the 
first  scrutiny. 

They  ascertain  the  sum  total  of  all  valid  votes  given 
to  the  individual  parties;  this  total  is  then  divided  by 
the  number  of  seats  allotted  to  the  particular  con- 
stituency; and  the  resultant  figure  (no  regard  being 
paid  to  remainders)  is  the  "election  number,"  that  is, 
the  number  of  votes  necessary  to  secure  the  election 
of  one  member. 

The  total  number  of  votes  given  for  each  party  list 
is  now  divided  by  this  "election  number"  and  the  com- 
mittee allots  to  each  party  a  number  of  seats  equiva- 
lent to  the  number  of  times  that  the  "election  number" 
is  contained  in  the  sum  total  of  votes  obtained  by  the 
party. 

The  candidates  belonging  to  the  different  parties  are 
allotted  the  seats  which  fall  to  those  parties,  in  the 
order  in  which  their  names  appear  on  the  lists  of  can- 
didates. If  a  list  of  candidates  printed  as  a  ballot 
paper  differs  from  the  original  list  handed  in  to  the 
election  committee  of  the  constituency,  the  contents 
and  the  order  of  the  names  of  the  original  list  have 
priority. 

Seats  not  assigned  at  the  first  scrutiny  are  allotted 
eight  days  after  the  completion  of  the  elections 
throughout  the  whole  Republic,  by  a  central  elec- 
tion committee  attached  to  the  Ministry  of  the 
Interior.   This  is  the  second  scriitiny. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  second  scrutiny 

[21] 


396 

such  members  of  the  central  election  committee  as 
are  party  agents  present  to  the  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee the  lists  of  candidates  of  their  respective 
parties;  these  lists  may  contain  the  names  of  any 
number  of  candidates,  yet  only  of  those  v/ho  have 
already  sought  election  in  some  constituency  and 
failed  to  be  elected  at  the  first  scrutiny. 

At  the  second  scrutiny  consideration  is  given  only 
to  the  votes  of  parties  which  in  at  least  one  constitu- 
ency obtained  20,000  votes  (or  the  "election  number," 
should  this  be  less  than  20,000)  and  which  presented 
a  list  of  candidates  for  the  second  scrutiny. 

The  committee  counts  the  votes  remaining  over, 
obtained  by  the  different  parties  together  throughout 
the  Republic,  and  ascertains  the  necessary  quotient 
(the  "election  number").  This  number  is,  in  this  case, 
the  round  sum  irrespective  of  any  remainder,  which  is 
arrived  at  by  dividing  the  total  of  all  votes  remaining 
over  from  the  first  scrutiny  by  the  number  of  seats  to 
be  filled,  plus  one. 

The  committee  allots  to  each  party  a  number  of  seats 
corresponding  to  the  number  of  times  that  the  "election 
number"  is  contained  in  the  surplus  of  votes  given  to 
the  party  in  all  the  constituencies  taken  together. 

If  at  the  second  scrutiny  all  the  seats  are  not 
allotted,  the  committee  assigns  one  seat  each  to  those 
parties  which  have  the  largest  remainders  of  votes 
still  left.   This  is  known  as  the  third  scrutiny. 

Here,  too,  the  candidates  of  the  various  parties  are 
taken  in  the  order  in  which  their  names  appear  on  the 
lists. 

All  the  candidates  who  have  failed  to  obtain  elec- 
tion at  the  first,  second  or  third  scrutiny  are  "reserves." 


397 

That  is  to  say,  if  a  seat  becomes  vacant,  no  by- 
election  takes  place,  but  a  "reserve"  candidate  of  the 
same  party  as  the  late  member  automatically  suc- 
ceeds to  his  seat.  The  "reserve"  man  must  have  stood 
as  a  candidate  for  the  same  constituency  in  which  the 
vacancy  occurs  and  the  order  of  the  names  on  the  list 
of  candidates  is  followed.  If  no  such  candidate  is 
available  the  "reserve"  man  is  taken  in  the  due  order 
from  the  list  of  candidates  presented  for  the  second 
scrutiny. 

ELECTIONS  TO  THE  SENATE 

(Act  of  Parliament  of  29  February  1920.  No.  134  in  the  Code  of  Laws  and 
Regulations.) 

All  persons  are  entitled  to  vote  whose  names  are 
duly  entered  on  the  standing  list  of  voters,  and  who, 
at  the  date  of  the  first  publication  of  the  same  have 
attained  the  age  of  twenty-six  years. 

Eligibility  for  membership  commences  at  the  age 
of  forty-five  years. 

There  are  thirteen  constituencies,  each  of  which,  in 
general,  is  composed  of  two  such  constituencies  as  send 
members  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  smallest 
constituency  sends  up  four  members,  the  largest  (that 
of  Prague)  twenty-three. 

The  franchise  rules  governing  elections  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  apply  also  to  the  senatorial 
elections  (see  above). 

If  elections  to  the  two  chambers  take  place  within 
four  weeks  of  each  other,  no  person  may  stand  as  can- 
didate for  both  houses.  The  election  of  a  candidate 
in  defiance  of  this  provision  is  invalid. 

In  cases  other  than  that  just  mentioned,  if  a  deputy 
be  elected  senator,  or  vice  versa,  a  senator  be  elected 

[23] 


398 


deputy,   he  shall  take  his  seat  in   that  chamber  to 
which  he  was  last  elected. 

THE  STANDING  LISTS  OF  VOTERS 

(Act  if  Parliament  of  19  December  1919-  No.  663  in  the  Code  of  Laws  and 
Regulations,  supplemented  by  the  Act  of  23  January  1920.  No.  44.) 

Not  only  parliamentary  elections  but  also  all  munic- 
ipal and  local  elections  take  place  on  the  basis  of  the 
standing  lists  of  voters  (for  the  Senate  with  the 
restriction  of  twenty-six  years). 

All  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic,  irrespec- 
tive of  sex,  who  on  the  date  of  the  publication  of  the 
lists  have  attained  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  have 
resided  in  one  polling  district  for  the  preceding  three 
months  and  who  have  not  been  deprived  of  the  fran- 
chise by  a  judgment  of  the  courts  or  condemnation 
for  some  crime,  have  their  names  entered  on  the 
standing  list  of  voters. 

The  lists  are  compiled  and  carefully  kept  up-to- 
date  by  a  local  election  committee  which  is  set  up 
for  every  polling  district  and  is  composed  of  the  burgo- 
master, or  a  deputy  nominated  by  him,  as  chairman, 
together  with  four  to  eight  assessors.  These  assessors 
(or  deputy  assessors  if  necessary)  are  appointed  for  a 
term  of  three  years  by  the  political  Bureau  of  Control 
(a  state  office).  In  nominating  the  members  of  the 
committee  (or  their  deputies  should  it  be  necessary 
to  appoint  such  in  the  course  of  the  three  years)  care 
is  taken  that  as  far  as  possible  all  political  parties 
shall  be  equally  represented  and  regard  paid  to  nom- 
ination proposals  emanating  from  the  political  parties 
themselves. 

Communities  with  less  than  5,000  inhabitants  form 
a  single  electoral  district  and  a  separate  list  of  voters 

1 24] 


399 


is  drawn  up  for  it.  Houses  are  entered  thereon  accord- 
ing to  the  order  in  which  they  are  numbered  in  the 
community,  commencing  at  the  lowest  number,  and 
ih'  n  the  occupants  of  each  house  in  alphabetical  order. 

Communities  with  more  than  5,000  inhabitants  are 
divided  by  the  above-mentioned  committee  into 
several  electoral  districts.  Voters  have  to  supply 
particulars  of  their  surname,  Christian  name,  the  date 
of  their  birth  and  their  occupation. 

The  burgomaster  has  to  submit  the  lists  to  public 
scrutiny  for  a  period  of  eight  week  days  twice  in  the 
year  commencing  on  the  15th  of  June  and  the  15th 
of  December  respectively. 

Every  person  has  the  right  to  look  through  the  list, 
and  to  make  copies  and  extracts  so  long  as  he  does 
not  hinder  others  from  exercising  the  same  right. 

In  communities  where  the  population  exceeds  5,000 
the  lists,  on  the  demand  of  any  one  citizen  and  at  his 
cost,  must  be  printed  in  good  time  and  in  sufficient 
numbers  and  issued  not  later  than  the  first  day  of  the 
term  appointed  for  sending  in  claims  and  objections. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  lists  are  on  view 
objections  may  be  presented  in  writing  at  the  burgo- 
master's office.  Persons  unable  to  write  may  make 
their  objections  orally.  If  the  objection  concerns  the 
inclusion  of  a  name  entered  on  the  list,  the  objection 
must  be  at  once  communicated  to  the  voter  affected, 
who  is  allowed  three  days  in  which  to  file  his  answer 
at  the  burgomaster's  office. 

The  ultimate  decision  with  regard  to  objections  lies 
with  the  revising  committee  attached  to  the  Bureau 
of  Control,  the  chairman  of  which  is  an  official  of 
that  Bureau,  while  the  members  are  eight  to  twelve 
assessors  nominated  by  the  chairman  for  three  years 

I25] 


4O0 

from  the  ranks  of  the  various  political  parties.  The 
revised  lists  are  exposed  to  public  scrutiny  for  eight 
days,  at  the  end  of  January  and  at  the  end  of  July. 

Against  the  decisions  of  the  revising  committee  an 
appeal  lies  to  the  Electoral  Court  (see  below).  The 
judgment  of  this  latter  court,  however,  does  not 
affect  the  matter  at  issue  unless  it  be  communicated  to 
the  burgomaster's  ofhce  either  officially  or  by  the 
party  affected,  at  least  ten  days  before  the  election 
takes  place. 

Elections  take  place — on  the  basis  of  the  revised 
lists  published  at  the  end  of  January — between  Febru- 
ary I  and  July  31;  on  the  basis  of  the  revised  lists 
published  at  the  end  of  July,  between  August  i  and 
January  31. 

THE  ELECTORAL  COURT 

(Act  of  Parliament  of  29  February  1920.   No.  125  in  the  Code  of  Laws  and 
Regulations.) 

The  Electoral  Court  is  composed  of  a  president, 
twelve  assessors  and  the  requisite  number  of  perma- 
nent officials. 

The  premier  president  for  the  time  being  of  the 
Supreme  Administrative  Court  acts  as  president. 
The  permanent  officials  are  appointed  by  the  president 
and  taken  from  the  staff  of  the  Supreme  Administra- 
tive Court.  The  assessors  are  elected  by  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  (the  original  idea  of  allowing  the  Senate 
to  elect  a  part  of  the  assessors  was  abandoned,  for  the 
small  number  of  the  assessors  made  it  impossible 
properly  to  apply  the  principle  of  proportional  repre- 
sentation). All  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic 
who  are  versed  in  law,  who  have  attained  the  age  of 
forty  years,  who  have  been  Czecho-Slovak  citizens  for  at 
least  ten  years  and  have  not  lost  their  right  to  vote 

[26I 


40I 

are  eligible  for  this  post.    Members  of  the  Electoral 

Court  may  not  become   members  of   Parliament  or 

members  of  any  county  council  (council  of  a  zupy). 

The  Electoral  Court  is  the  exclusively  competent 

authority:  . 

1  To  decide  appeals  against  the  decision  ot  the 
revising  committee  in  accordance  with  the  law  deal- 
ing with  the  standing  list  of  voters; 

2  To  examine  into  and  confirm  the  validity  of 
elections  of  members  of  the  National  Assembly  and 
county  councils  (councils  of  the  zupy) ; 

3.  To  decide  appeals  respecting  elections  to  the 
National  Assembly,  county  councils  and  county  com- 
missions and  committees; 

4    To  decide  whether  a  member  of  the  National 
Assembly  or  county  council  has  forfeited  his  seat  for 
(a)    having  lost  the  right  to  be  elected; 
(&)    having  lost  his  membership  of  the  party  whose 
candidate  he  was,  and  that  for  some  disreputable 
and  dishonorable  cause. 
Appeals  must  be  made  in  writing  within  fourteen 
days  of  the  date  on  which  the  decision  of  the  revising 
committee  is  made  known  to  the  appellant,  or  of  the 
last  date  on  which  the  revised  list  of  voters  was  on 
view,  or  of  the  date  of  the  of=ficial  announcement  of  the 
final  result  of  the  election;  the  appeals  must  bear  the 
signature  of  a  lawyer. 

Appeals  are  conducted  under  a  system  of  procedure 
in  which  the  parties  participate  by  question  and 
answer,  and  in  general  a  full  bench  of  the  Electoral 
Court  delivers  judgment  after  the  case  has  been 
conducted  orally  and  in  public.  (Plaints,  however, 
relative  to  the  lists  of  candidates  may  be  decided  on 
the  motion  of  the  president  of  the  Electoral  Court. 

[271 


402 

by  a  commission  consisting  of  the  president,  three 
assessors  and  a  permanent  official). 

The  Electoral  Court  in  its  finding  states  to  what 
extent  the  election  is  annulled  and,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, designates  the  person  who  is  elected  in 
place  of  the  member  whose  election  has  been  declared 
invalid. 

The  presenting  of  plaints  and  documents  relative 
thereto  as  well  as  all  procedure  is  exempt  from  the  pay- 
ment of  fees  and  stamps. 

THE  CONSTITUTIONAL  COURT 

(Act  of  Parliament  of  9  March  1920.  No.  162  in  the  Code  of  Law3  and 
Regulations.) 

Laws  promulgated  either  by  the  National  Assembly 
or  by  the  Diet  of  Russinia,  which  are  in  conflict  with 
the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  or  with  laws  amend- 
ing or  supplementing  it,  are  invalid.  The  decision  as 
to  whether  a  law  is  valid  or  not  in  this  sense  pertains 
exclusively  to  the  Constitutional  Court.  Further- 
more, this  court  is  competent  to  decide  whether 
measures  adopted  by  the  standing  commission  under 
Par.  54  of  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  are  in  con- 
flict with  constitutional  law  (or  whether  or  not  they 
modify  the  competence  of  the  civil  service  depart- 
ments except  where  it  is  a  matter  of  enlarging  the 
competence  of  an  office  already  set  up,  by  imposing 
new  duties  upon  it). 

The  Constitutional  Court  iscomposed  of  seven  mem- 
bers, three  of  whom  are  nominated  by  the  President  of 
the  Republic  as  follows:  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  the 
Senate,  and  the  Diet  of  Russinia  each  propose  three  of 
their  members  and  the  President  of  the  RepubHc 
choses  one  member  from  each  group.    The  President 

[28I 


403 

at  the  same  time  nominates  one  of  the  three  members 
to  be  president  of  the  Constitutional  Court.  Of  the 
remaining  four,  two  each  arc  taken  from  the  ranks  of 
the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  and  the 
Supreme  Administrative  Court. 

For  each  member  a  substitute  is  nominated  to  sit 
when  necessary  and  the  procedure  of  nomination  is 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  that  of  the  original  member. 

The  members  of  the  Constitutional  Court  as  well  as 
the  substitute  members  must  be  persons  well  versed 
in  the  law,  eligible  for  membership  of  the  Senate,  and 
who  are  neither  members  of  parliament  nor  civil 
servants. 

The  members  of  the  Constitutional  Court  are  nom- 
inated for  a  term  of  lo  years. 

The  question  whether  a  particular  law  is  in  conflict 
with  the  Charter  of  the  Constitution  is  decided  by  the 
Constitutional  Court  exclusively  on  the  motion  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Justice,  or  the  Supreme  Administra- 
tive Court,  the  Electoral  Court,  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  the  Senate  or  the  Diet  of  Russinia.  A 
resolution  to  carry  such  a  motion  must  be  passed  by 
a  majority  in  the  above-mentioned  bodies  in  each  case. 

It  must  be  made  within  thres  years  at  least  of  the 
date  on  which  the  law  in  question  was  promulgated. 

Such  an  application  is  made  under  a  system  of  pro- 
cedure in  which  the  parties  participate  by  question 
and  answer,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  legislative 
assemblies  and  the  government.  Exact  limits  are 
fixed  to  the  duration  of  the  proceedings.  They  may 
not  last  longer  than  ten  months.  The  proceedings  are 
public  and  oral.  Should  any  of  the  parties  fail  to  send 
their  representatives  to  the  hearing,  the  proceeding 
shall  not  be  thereby  in  any  v.ay  prejudiced.   Five  votes 

[29] 


404 

at  least  are  always  necessary  for  finding  against  the 
validity  of  a  law. 

The  finding  of  the  Constitutional  Court  is  reported 
by  the  president  of  that  court  to  the  government. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  to  pub- 
lish the  finding  within  eight  days  and  without  com- 
ment in  the  official  Code  of  Laws  and  Regulations. 
At  the  same  time  the  finding  is  to  be  published  in  the 
official  press  with  detailed  grounds  for  the  decision. 

The  publication  of  the  finding  in  the  official  Code 
of  Laws  and  Regulations  has  the  effect  of  making  it 
binding,  from  the  date  of  its  publication,  upon  the 
legislative  bodies,  the  government,  all  public  offices, 
and  on  the  courts. 


(30] 


405 


CONSTITUTIONAL  LAWS 

III 

THE  LAW  OF  FEBRUARY  29,    1920 

WHEREBY     THE     CONSTITUTIONAL     CHARTER     OF     THE 
CZECHO-SLOVAK  REPUBLIC  IS  INTRODUCED 

IVE,  the  Czecho- Slovak  nation,  desiring  to  consoli- 
date the  perfect  unity  of  our  people,  to  establish  the 
reign  of  justice  in  the  Republic,  to  assure  the  peace- 
ful development  of  our  native  Czecho-Slovak  land, 
to  contribute  to  the  common  welfare  of  all  citizens 
of  this  State  and  to  secure  the  blessings  of  freedom 
to  coming  generations,  have  in  our  National  Assem- 
bly this  2Qth  day  of  February,  IQ20  adopted  the 
following  Constitution  for  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re- 
public; and  in  doing  so  we  declare  that  it  will  be  our 
endeavor  to  see  that  this  Constitution  together  with 
all  the  laws  of  our  land  be  carried  out  in  the  spirit 
of  our  history  as  well  as  in  the  spirit  of  those  modern 
principles  embodied  in  the  idea  of  self-determina- 
tion, for  we  desire  to  take  our  place  in  the  family 
of  nations  as  a  mxmber  at  once  cultured,  peace- 
loving,  democratic  and  progressive. 

Article  I 

I.  Enactments  which  are  in  conflict  with  the  Con- 
stitutional Charter  or  with  laws  which  may  supple- 
ment or  amend  it  are  invalid. 

[31] 


4o6 

2.  The  Constitutional  Charter  may  be  altered  or 
amended  only  by  laws  specifically  designated  as 
Constitutional  Laws. 

Article  II 

A  constitutional  court  shall  decide  as  to  whether 
the  laws  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  and  of  the  Diet 
of    Carpathian    Ruthenia    (Russinia)    conform    with 

Article  I. 

Article  III 

1.  The  Constitutional  Court  shall  consist  of  seven 
members,  two  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
High  Court  of  Administration  and  two  by  the  High 
Court  of  Justice;  the  remaining  two  members  and  the 
chairman  shall  be  nominated  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic. 

2.  The  appointment  of  representatives  of  the 
above-mentioned  courts  to  the  Constitutional  Court, 
the  tenure  of  office,  the  rules  of  procedure  and  the 
definition  of  its  jurisdiction  shall  be  established  by  a 
specific  enactment. 

x\rticle  IV 

1.  The  present  National  Assembly  shall  sit  until 
the  convocation  of  Parliament  (the  Senate  and  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies). 

2.  Such  laws  as  may  have  been  enacted  by  the 
National  Assembly  but  not  made  public  in  the  official 
record  by  the  day  of  the  assembling  of  Parliament, 
shall  not  be  promulgated  if  returned  by  the  President 
of  the  Republic  to  the  National  Assembly. 

3.  Regulations  of  the  Provisional  Constitution, 
limiting  the  period  of  exercise  of  the  rights  of  the 
President  of  the   Republic   (§11    of  the   Provisional 

I32I 


407 

Constitution)  and  delimiting  the  duty  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  publish  the  law  enacted  shall  remain  valid  as 
to  laws  enacted  by  the  present  National  Assembly. 

Article  V 

The  present  President  shall  remain  in  office  until 
a  new  election  takes  place.  The  duties  and  obligations 
of  the  President,  as  defined  in  the  Constitutional 
Charter,  become  effective  simultaneously  with  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitutional  Charter. 

Article  VI 

Until  the  election  of  the  full  number  of  members 
of  Parliament,  as  required  by  the  Constitutional 
Charter,  the  number  of  members  actually  elected 
shall  determine  the  quorum  necessary  for  the  enact- 
ment of  legislation. 

Article  VII 

1.  The  provisions  of  Articles  I,  II,  III  (§  i)  and  VI 
shall  be  an  integral  part  of  the  Constitutional  Charter, 
as  set  forth  in  §  33  of  that  Charter. 

2.  Provisions  as  to  the  execution  of  laws,  as  postu- 
lated in  the  Constitutional  Charter,  shall  not  form 
part  of  that  Charter,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding 
paragraph,  unless  the  Charter  provides  otherwise. 

Article  VIII 

1.  The  Constitutional  Charter  shall  become  valid 
on  the  day  of  its  proclamation. 

2.  Paragraph  20  does  not  apply  to  members  of  the 
present  National  Assembly. 

l33] 


4o8 

Article  IX 

On  the  day  designated  in  Article  VIII,  §  i,  all  laws 
and  regulations  in  conflict  with  the  spirit  of  this  Char- 
ter and  the  republican  form  of  the  State,  as  well  as  all 
previously  enacted  Constitutional  Laws,  shall  become 
invalid,  even  if  part  of  the  latter  are  not  opposed  to 
the  Constitutional  Laws  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Repub- 
lic. 

Article  X 

The  foregoing  nine  articles  shall  become  valid 
simultaneously  with  the  Constitutional  Charter. 
The  execution  of  these  enactments  is  hereby  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  Government. 


I34] 


409 


IV 

THE   CONSTITUTIONAL   CHARTER   OF  THE 
CZECHO-SLOVAK  REPUBLIC 

Section  I 

GENERAL    PROVISIONS 

§1 

1 .  The  people  are  the  sole  source  of  all  State  power 
in  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic. 

2.  This  Constitutional  Charter  determines  through 
what  organs  the  sovereign  people  shall  express  their 
will  in  laws,  provides  for  the  execution  of  these  laws, 
and  guarantees  to  the  people  their  rights  and  liberties. 
Such  limitations  are  imposed  upon  these  organs  of 
Government,  as  shall  preserve  to  the  people  all  rights 
guaranteed  by  this  Charter. 

§2 

The  Czecho-Slovak  State  shall  be  a  democratic 
Republic,  the  head  of  which  shall  be  an  elected  Presi- 
dent. 

§3 

1.  The  territories  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic 
shall  form  a  united  and  indivisible  unit,  the  frontiers 
of  which  may  be  altered  only  by  Constitutional  Law. 

2.  The  autonomous  territory  of  Carpathian  Rus- 
sinia,  which  shall  receive  the  widest  measure  of  self- 

l35] 


4IO 

government  compatible  with  the  unity  of  the  Czecho- 
slovak Repubhc,  shall  be  an  integral  part  of  this  unit 
by  the  terms  of  its  voluntary  declaration  as  set  forth 
in  the  Treaty  between  the  Allied  Powers  and  the 
Czecho-Slovak  Republic  of  September  loth,  19 19. 
Carpathian  Russinia  shall  have  its  own  diet,  which 
shall  elect  its  presiding  officer  and  other  officials. 

3.  This  diet  shall  legislate  in  linguistic,  educational 
and  religious  matters,  in  matters  of  domestic  adminis- 
tration arid  in  such  other  matters  as  may  be  assigned 
to  it  by  the  laws  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic.  Laws 
enacted  by  this  diet,  and  signed  by  the  President  of 
the  Republic,  shall  be  published  in  a  separate  series 
and  shall  be  countersigned  by  the  Governor  of  Rus- 
sinia. 

4.  Carpathian  Russinia  shall  be  represented  in 
Parliament  by  deputies  and  senators  elected  accord- 
ing to  the  general  suffrage  law  of  the  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic. 

5.  The  head  of  Russinia  shall  be  a  governor,  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Repub- 
lic on  the  recommendation  of  the  Government,  and  he 
shall  be  responsible  also  to  the  Diet  of  Russinia. 

6.  Public  officials  in  Russinia  shall  be,  in  so  far  as 
possible,  selected  from  the  population  of  Russinia. 

7.  Details  as  to  the  right  of  suffrage  and  eligibility 
to  the  diet  shall  be  defined  by  special  legislation. 

8.  The  law  enacted  by  the  Parliament  defining  the 
frontiers  of  Carpathian  Russinia  shall  form  part  of 
the  Constitutional  Charter. 

§4 
I.    Citizenship   in   the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  is 
single  and  uniform. 

[36I 


411 

2.  The  law  regulates  the  conditions  governing  the 
acquisition,  the  rights  and  duties,  and  the  termination 
of  citizenship  in  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic. 

3.  A  citizen  or  subject  of  a  foreign  State  cannot  at 
the  same  time  be  a  citizen  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re- 
public. 

§5 

1 .  The  capital  of  the  Republic  is  Prague. 

2.  The  colors  of  the  Republic  are  white,  red  and 
blue. 

3.  Official  emblems  and  flags  shall  be  determined 
upon  by  law. 

Section  II 

LEGISLATIVE  POWERS,  CONSTITUTION  AND  COMPETENCY 
OF  PARLIAMENT  AND  OF  BOTH  ITS  CHAMBERS 

§6 

1 .  The  legislative  power  of  the  whole  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic  shall  rest  in  the  hands  of  Parliament,  which 
shall  be  composed  of  a  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  a 
Senate. 

2.  The  seat  of  both  chambers  shall  be  at  Prague. 
In  case  of  urgent  necessity,  Parliament  may  be  tem- 
porarily summoned  to  some  other  locality  in  the 
Czecho-Slovak  Republic. 

§7 

1 .  The  legislative  and  administrative  powers  of  the 
former  diets  is  hereby  abolished. 

2.  Unless  they  provide  otherwise,  enactments  of 
Parliament  shall  be  binding  throughout  the  Czecho- 
slovak Republic. 

I37] 


412 

§8 

The  Chamber  of  Deputies  shall  be  composed  of  300 
members,  elected  according  to  a  general,  equal,  direct 
and  secret  suffrage,  on  a  basis  of  proportional  repre- 
sentation.  Elections  shall  be  held  on  Sundays. 

§9 
The  right  to  vote  for  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
appertains  to  all  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Repub- 
lic without  distinction  of  sex,  who  are  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  who  comply  with  the  other  pro- 
visions of  the  electoral  regulations. 

§  10 

All  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  without 
distinction  of  sex  who  are  thirty  years  of  age  and  who 
comply  with  the  conditions  of  the  suffrage  law  may  be 
elected  as  deputies  to  the  chamber. 

§11 
The  term  for  which  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  is 
elected  shall  be  six  years. 

§  12 

Details  as  to  the  exercise  of  suffrage  rights  and  the 
manner  of  carrying  out  elections  are  set  forth  in  the 
provisions  dealing  with  elections  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies, 

§13 

The  Senate  shall  consist  of  150  members  elected 
according  to  general,  equal,  direct  and  secret  suffrage 
on  a  basis  of  proportional  representation.  Elections 
shall  be  held  on  Sundays. 

[38] 


413 


§  14 


The  right  to  vote  for  the  Senate  appertains  to  all 
citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  without  dis- 
tinction of  sex  who  are  twenty-six  years  of  age  and  who 
comply  with  the  other  provisions  of  the  law  concern- 
ing the  Constitution  and  the  rights  and  powers  of  the 
Senate. 

§15 

All  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  without 
distinction  of  sex  who  are  forty-five  years  of  age  and 
who  comply  with  the  other  conditions  concerning  the 
Constitution  and  the  rights  and  powers  of  the  Senate 
are  eligible  to  the  Senate, 

§i6 

The  term  for  which  the  Senate  is  elected  shall  be 
eight  years. 

§  17 

Specific  provisions  as  to  the  exercise  of  the  suffrage 
and  the  manner  of  elections  are  set  forth  in  the  law 
governing  the  Constitution  and  law  of  the  Senate. 


No  person  may  be  at  the  same  time  a  member  of 
both  chambers. 

§  19 

1.  An  electoral  court  shall  pass  upon  the  validity 
of  elections  to  Parliament. 

2.  Details  shall  be  settled  by  law. 

(391 


414 

§20 

1.  If  a  civil  servant  become  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, he  shall  be  granted  leave  automatically  pend- 
ing his  term  in  Parliament;  he  shall  be  entitled  to  his 
regular  salary,  but  with  no  local  allowances,  and  he 
shall  retain  from  his  official  duties  his  right  to  seniority 
promotion.  University  professors  are  entitled  to  leave 
of  absence;  if  they  make  use  of  this  right,  the  same 
provisions  apply  to  them  as  to  other  state  servants. 

2.  All  other  public  servants  and  officials  shall  have 
the  right  to  obtain  leave  pending  their  term  as  mem- 
bers of  Parliament. 

3.  Members  of  Parliament  cannot  enter  the  civil 
service  until  after  the  expiration  of  one  year  from  the 
time  they  cease  to  be  members. 

4.  This  provision  does  not  apply  to  ministers. 
The  time  limit  in  section  3  shall  not  affect  deputies  or 
senators  who  were  civil  servants  before  they  became 
members  of  Parliament,  provided  that  they  return 
to  the  same  department. 

5.  District  governors  cannot  become  members  of 
Parliament. 

6.  Members  of  the  Constitutional  Court,  com- 
missioners of  an  electoral  court  and  members  of 
district  assemblies  cannot  at  the  same  time  be  mem- 
bers of  Parliament. 

§21 

Members  of  both  chambers  can  resign  their  man- 
dates at  any  time. 

§  22 

I.  Members  of  Parliament  shall  execute  their 
functions  in  person.  They  shall  not  receive  orders 
from  anybody. 

[40] 


415 

•  2.  They  shall  not  address  to  public  authorities 
requests  in  the  personal  interest  of  individuals,  unless 
they  do  so  in  their  professional  capacity. 

3.  At  their  first  sitting,  members  of  Parliament 
shall  take  the  following  oath:  "I  pledge  myself  to  be 
faithful  to  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic,  to  uphold  its 
laws  and  to  carry  out  my  mandate  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  conscience."  Refusal  to  take  this  oath 
or  the  making  of  any  reservation  thereto  shall  dis- 
qualify for  membership  in  Parliament. 

§23 
Members  of  Parliament  shall  not  be  prosecuted  for 
the  exercise  of  their  functions  as  members.    For  state- 
ments made  in  the  chamber,  members  shall  be  amen- 
able only  to  the  disciplinary  statutes  of  the  chamber. 

§24 

1.  Only  with  the  consent  of  the  respective  cham- 
bers shall  members  of  Parliament  become  liable  to 
civil  or  criminal  prosecution.  If  this  consent  be  not 
granted,  such  prosecution  shall  become  permanently 
null  and  void. 

2.  This  provision  does  not  apply  to  the  legal  lia- 
bility of  a  member  as  responsible  editor.* 

§25 
If  a  member  of  either  chamber  be  apprehended  and 
arrested  in  the  commission  of  a  criminal  act,  the 
court  or  other  authority  having  jurisdiction  shall  in- 
form the  chairman  of  the  respective  chamber  of  the 
arrest.  If  the  chamber  or  the  committee  defined 
under  paragraph  54  does  not  within  a  fortnight  give 

*  In  reference  to  libel  and  incitement  to  crime. 
[41] 


4i6 

its  consent  to  the  arrest,   it  becomes  null  and  void- 
forthwith.     If    the   committee   does   consent    to   the 
arrest,  the  chamber  must  give  its  decision  within  14 
days  after  its  first  sitting. 

§26 

Members  of  both  chambers  shall  have  the  right  to 
refuse  to  give  testimony  in  reference  to  matters  con- 
fided to  them  as  members  of  the  chamber,  even  after 
they  cease  to  be  members.  In  the  trial  of  a  case  of 
attempting  to  corrupt  a  member,  testimony  cannot  be 
refused. 

§27 

Members  of  both  chambers  shall  have  a  right  to 
remuneration  as  specified  by  law. 

§28 

1.  The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  summon 
both  chambers  twice  a  year  for  a  spring  and  an 
autumn  session,  the  former  to  begin  in  March,  the 
latter  in  October. 

2.  Furthermore,  he  may  summon  Parliament  for 
extraordinary  sessions  whenever  he  may  deem  it 
necessary.  If  at  least  one-half  of  the  members  of 
either  chamber  applies  to  the  Prime  Minister  stating 
the  object  for  summoning  it,  the  President  shall  sum- 
mon the  Assembly  within  a  fortnight  from  the  date 
of  such  application ;  should  he  fail  to  do  so,  the  chair- 
men of  both  chambers  shall  convoke  Parliament 
within  the  following  fortnight. 

3.  If  four  months  shall  have  elapsed  from  the  last 
ordinary  session,  the  President  is  obliged  to  summon 
Parliament,  if  at  least  two-fifths  of  either  chamber 
so  desire,  within  a  fortnight  from  the  date  of  their 

I42] 


417 

application.  Should  he  fail  to  do  so,  the  chairmen  of 
both  chambers  shall,  within  the  following  fortnight, 
convoke  Parliament. 

§29 
The  session  of  both  chambers  shall  begin  and  end 
simultaneously. 

§30 

1.  The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  declare  the 
session  of  Parliament  at  an  end. 

2.  He  may  prorogue  Parliament  for  not  longer  than 
a  month,  and  not  more  frequently  than  once  a  year. 

§31 

1.  The  President  shall  have  the  right  to  dissolve 
Parliament. 

2.  He  shall  not  be  allowed  the  exercise  of  this  right 
during  the  last  six  months  of  his  term  of  office.  After 
the  expiration  of  the  electoral  term,  or  after  the  disso- 
lution of  either  chamber,  new  elections  shall  take 
place  within  sixty  days. 

3.  The  dissolution  of  the  Senate  shall  not  stay 
criminal  proceedings  inaugurated  before  the  Senate 
in  accordance  with  §§67  and  79. 

§32 
Either    chamber   may    function,   unless   otherwise 
provided   in   this   law,   if  at   least   two-thirds  of  the 
members  are  present.    Its  decisions  are  valid  should  a 
majority  of  one-half  of  those  present  be  obtained. 

§33 
The  decision  as  to  a  declaration  of  war  or  as  to  the 
amendment  of  this  Charter  shall  require  a  three-fifths 
majority  of  all  the  members  of  each  chamber. 

[43] 


4i8 

§34 

1 .  The  decision  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  for  the 
impeachment  of  the  President  of  the  RepubUc,  the 
Prime  Minister,  or  other  members  of  the  Government, 
shall  require  a  two-thirds  majority  with  two-thirds  of 
the  members  present. 

2.  The  procedure  before  the  Senate  sitting  as  a 
court  of  prosecution  shall  be  regulated  by  law. 

§35 

Each  chamber  shall  elect  its  own  chairman  and 
other  officers. 

§36 
The   sittings   of   both   chambers    shall    be    public. 
Sittings  in  camera  may  be  held  only  where  the  rules 
of  procedure  so  provide. 

§37 

1.  The  basic  principles  of  the  relations  between 
both  chambers  and  between  the  Government  and 
Parliament  and  between  the  public  and  Parliament 
shall  be  regulated  by  specific  law,  which  shall  conform 
to  the  Constitutional  Charter.  The  internal  order  of 
each  chamber  shall  be  regulated  by  its  own  rules  of 
procedure. 

2.  So  long  as  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the 
Senate  do  not  create  a  new  body  of  rules,  the  rules  of 
procedure  of  the  present  National  Assembly  shall  be 
binding  upon  them. 

§38 
I.   Whenever  both  chambers  meet  in  joint  session 
as  the  National  Assembly   (§§56,  59,  61,   65),  this 
body  shall  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  procedure  of 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

I44] 


419 

2.  Such  a  joint  session  shall  be  summoned  by  the 
Prime  Minister,  and  its  presiding  officer  shall  be  the 
chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

3.  The  chairman  of  the  Senate  shall  act  as  vice- 
chairman  of  the  National  Assembly. 

§39 
The  ministers  shall   have  the  right   to  participate 
at  any  time  in   the  meetings  of  either  chamber  or  of 
committees.    They  shall   be  allowed   to  speak  when- 
ever they  demand  to  be  heard. 

§40 

1.  At  the  request  of  either  chamber  or  of  a  com- 
mittee a  minister  shall  appear  before  that  body. 

2.  Otherwise  he  may  be  represented  by  an  official 
of  his  department  authorized  by  him. 

§41 

1.  Proposals  for  legislation  may  originate  either 
with  the  Government  or  in  either  chamber. 

2.  Every  proposal  made  by  members  of  either 
chamber  shall  be  accompanied  by  an  estimate  of  the 
financial  issue  involved  and  by  a  proposal  for  the 
defraying  of  the  necessary  cost. 

3.  Proposals  of  the  Government  for  budget  and 
army  bills  must  first  be  presented  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies. 

§42 
A  Constitutional  Law  shall  be  valid  only  with  the 
consent  of  both  chambers.    This  applies  also  to  other 
laws,  unless  otherwise  provided  by  §§  43'  44  and  48. 

145] 


420 

§43 

1.  The  Senate  shall  act  on  a  bill  proposed  and 
passed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  within  six  weeks, 
and  on  the  Budget  and  Army  Bills  within  one  month. 
The  Chamber  of  Deputies  shall  act  on  a  bill  proposed 
and  passed  by  the  Senate  within  three  months. 

2.  These  periods  are  counted  from  the  day  of  pre- 
sentation of  printed  bills  by  one  chamber  to  the 
other,  and  may  be  altered  by  mutual  consent;  the 
Senate  must  act  in  all  cases  of  budget  and  army  bills 
within  one  month  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph. 

3.  If  during  such  a  period,  the  term  of  the  chamber 
which  is  to  take  action  on  the  bill  of  the  other  expires, 
or  if  the  chamber  be  prorogued  or  dissolved,  the  date 
is  reckoned  from  the  first  day  of  its  next  sitting. 

4.  If  either  chamber  does  not  give  its  decision 
within  the  period  specified,  it  is  presumed  that  it 
gives  its  assent  to  the  decision  of  the   first  chamber. 

§44 

1.  A  measure  passed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
shall  become  law,  despite  an  adverse  decision  of  the 
Senate,  if  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  declares  by  a 
majority  of  50  per  cent,  of  all  its  members  that  it 
adheres  to  its  first  decision.  Should  the  Senate  reject 
a  draft  bill  passed  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  by  a 
majority  of  all  its  members,  the  bill  becomes  law 
provided  that  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  re-enacts  its 
decision  by  a  three-fifths  majority  of  all  its  members. 

2.  Proposals  of  the  Senate  shall  be  referred  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies;  should  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties reject  a  proposal  of  the  Senate  and  if  the  latter 

I46] 


421 

re-enacts  its  bill  by  a  50  per  cent,  majority  of  all  its 
members,  the  bill  shall  be  referred  back  to  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies.  Should  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
reject  the  bill  for  the  second  time  by  a  majority  of  50  per 
cent,  of  all  its  members,  the  bill  shall  not  become  law. 

3.  Bills  so  rejected  may  not  be  presented  to  either 
chamber  until  after  the  lapse  of  one  year. 

4.  Should  either  chamber  amend  a  bill  originating 
in  the  other  chamber,  its  action  shall  be  deemed  a 
rejection  of  the  bill. 

§45 
Should  either  chamber  have  under  consideration 
a  bill  already  passed  by  it  or  a  bill  passed  by  the 
other  chamber  (§44,  section  2),  and  should  it  be 
dissolved  or  its  term  of  office  expire  before  action  has 
been  taken,  its  new  decision  shall  be  considered  its 
second  action  in  accordance  with  §  44. 

§46 

1 .  Should  Parliament  reject  a  bill  presented  by  the 
Government,  the  latter  can  proclaim  a  referendum, 
but  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Government  must 
be  unanimous. 

2.  All  citizens  qualified  to  vote  for  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  shall  be  qualified  to  vote  at  the  referendum. 

3.  The  method  of  referendum  shall  be  determined 
by  law. 

4.  Referendum  is  inadmissible  in  respect  of  such 
Government  bills  as  amend  the  Constitution.  (Article  i, 
Introductory  Law.) 

§47 
The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  have  the  right 
to  return  with  comments  any  bill  passed   by  Parlia- 

[47] 


422 

ment  within  a  month  of  its  presentation  to  the  Govern- 
ment, 

§48 

1.  Should  both  chambers,  by  ballot,  taken  on  roll 
call,  affirm  the  returned  bill  by  a  majority  of  50 
per  cent,  of  all  their  members,  the  bill  shall  .become 
law. 

2.  Should  the  bill  not  receive  a  majority  of  votes 
in  both  chambers,  the  bill  becomes  law,  provided 
that  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  in  the  new  ballot,  taken 
by  roll  call,  passes  it  by  a  three-fifths  majority  of  all 
its  members. 

3.  Should  it  be  a  bill  for  the  adoption  of  which  the 
presence  of  a  larger  number  of  members  and  a  larger 
majority  is  required,  it  is  necessary  that  such  presence 
and  majority  be  obtained  for  the  adoption  of  the 
returned  bill. 

4.  Provisions  under  §  45  apply  accordingly. 

§49 

1.  For  a  bill  to  become  valid  as  law,  it  must  be 
made  public  as  specified  by  statute. 

2.  For  the  proclamation  of  all  laws  the  following 
preamble  must  be  prefaced:  "The  Parliament  of  the 
Czecho-Slovak  Republic  has  resolved  upon  the  follow- 
ing law." 

3.  The  law  shall  be  published  within  eight  week 
days  from  the  expiration  of  the  period  laid  down  in 
§  47.  Should  the  President  make  use  of  his  right 
referred  to  in  §  47,  the  law  shall  be  issued  within  eight 
week  days  of  the  announcement  of  its  re-enactment 
by  Parliament  to  the  Government  (§  48). 

[48] 


423 

In  every  law  it  shall  be  specified  to  which  member 
of  the  Government  its  execution  is  entrusted. 

§51 

1,  The  law  shall  be  signed  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic,  the  Prime  Minister  and  the  minister  en- 
trusted with  its  execution.  If  the  President  be  in- 
capacitated or  ill,  and  there  is  no  Vice-president,  the 
Prime  Minister  may  sign  on  behalf  of  the  President. 

2.  The  Prime  Minister  may  be  represented  for  the 
purposes  of  signing  laws  as  specified  by  §  71. 

§52 

1.  Each  chamber  shall  have  the  right  to  put 
questions  to  the  Prime  Minister  and  other  members 
of  the  Government  on  matters  within  the  scope  of 
their  competence,  to  enquire  into  administration,  to 
elect  committees  to  whom  the  ministers  shall  provide 
information,  and  to  adopt  proclamations  and  resolu- 
tions. 

2,  The  Prime  Minister  and  the  members  of  the 
Government  shall  answer  questions  put  to  them. 

§53 
The  exercise  of  control  of  the  financial  administra- 
tion and  of  the  State  debt  shall  be  regulated  by  law. 

§54 
I.  During  the  period  elapsing  between  the  dissolu- 
tion of  either  chamber  and  its  reassemblage  or 
between  the  expiration  of  its  term  of  ofiice  and  its 
convocation  and  during  the  period  of  adjournment, 
there  shall  sit  a  committee  of  twenty-four  members. 

[49] 


424 

Sixteen  members  of  this  committee  with  an  equal 
number  of  alternates  shall  be  chosen  by  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  from  its  members  and  eight  members, 
with  an  equal  number  of  alternates,  shall  be  chosen  by 
the  Senate  from  its  members.  Each  alternate  shall 
represent  only  the  member  of  the  committee,  as  the 
alternate  to  whom  he  has  been  chosen.  This  com- 
mittee shall  act  on  all  matters  of  immediate  urgency, 
even  if  in  ordinary  circumstances  they  should  require 
the  enactments  of  legislation  and  shall  exercise  con- 
trol of  all  government  and  executive  powers.  The 
term  of  office  of  the  committee  is  one  year. 

2.  The  first  election  shall  take  place  immediately 
after  both  chambers  organize.  Presiding  officers  of 
both  chambers  shall  vote.  When  a  chamber  shall 
meet  after  election,  the  members  of  the  committee  of 
twenty-four  shall  be  elected  by  the  newly  organized 
chamber  even  if  the  term  of  office  of  preceding  mem- 
bers of  the  committee  of  twenty-four  has  not  expired. 

3.  Elections  shall  be  based  on  the  principle  of  pro- 
portional representation.  Party  coalition  is  admis- 
sible. Should  all  parties  agree  on  the  choice  of  can- 
didates, the  committee  shall  be  elected  by  the  vote 
of  the  chamber.  Should  more  than  twenty  deputies 
and  ten  senators  oppose  such  election,  it  shall  be 
carried  out  as  first  provided. 

4.  Members  of  the  committee  shall  remain  in 
office  until  a  new  committee  is  elected.  Alternates 
take  the  place  of  members  unable  temporarily  or 
permanently  to  carry  out  their  duties.  Should  a 
member  or  alternate  be  incapacitated  for  service, 
while  Parliament  is  in  session,  by-elections  to  fill  his 
post  for  the  balance  of  the  term  of  the  committee 
shall  be  held.    The  new  member  must  belong  to  the 

[50] 


425 

same  political  group  as  the  old  member,  unless  that 
group  decides  not  to  present  a  candidate  or  to  refram 

from  voting. 

5.  A  member  of  the  Government  shall  not  be  a 
member  or  alternate  of  the  committee  of  twenty-four. 

6.  When  the  committee  has  been  elected,  it  shall 
elect  its  chairman  and  second  vice-chairman  from 
among  the  members  elected  by  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies  and  a  first  vice-chairman  from  among  the 
members  elected  by  the  Senate. 

7.  The  members  of  the  committee  shall  be  subject 
to  the  provisions  in  §§23  to  27  of  the  Constitutional 
Charter. 

8.  The  committee  shall  be  competent  in  all  mat- 
ters falling  within  the  legislative  and  administrative 
powers  of  Parliament  excepting: 

(a)  The  election  of  the  President  or  the  Vice- 
president  of  the  Republic. 

{b)  The  amendment  of  the  Constitutional  Charter 
(see  Article  i  of  the  Introductory  Law)  and 
the  changing  of  the  competence  of  public 
ofificials,  unless  it  be  a  question  of  widening  the 
scope  of  their  activities  by  new  duties. 

(c)  Burdening  the  citizens  in  the  State  with  per- 
manent financial  obligations,  increasing  the 
military  duties  of  the  citizens  or  disposing  of 
State  property. 

(d)  Giving  consent  to  a  declaration  of  war. 

9.  Provisions  which  under  ordinary  circumstances 
would  require  the  enactment  of  legislation  or  expendi- 
tures apart  from  the  budget  require  the  assent  of  half 
of  all  the  members. 

10.  In  all  other  cases  the  presence  of  half  of  the 
members  shall  be  sufficient  and  a  50  per  cent,  majority 

I51] 


426 

of  those  present  shall  be  decisive.    The  chairman  shall 
vote  only  to  cast  the  decisive  vote. 

11.  Urgent  provisions  which  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances could  be  promulgated  only  by  enactments 
of  legislation  are  admissible  only  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Government  approved  by  the  President 
of  the  Republic. 

12.  Provisions  of  the  committee  referred  to  in  the 
last  article  shall  have  the  provisional  validity  of  law 
only  if  published  in  the  official  record  with  reference 
to  §  54  of  the  Constitutional  Charter  and  if  signed  by 
the  President  of  the  Republic,  by  the  Prime  Minister 
or  his  deputy  and  half  of  the  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Provisions  to  which  the  President  has  refused 
to  assent  cannot  be  entered  on  record. 

13.  The  Constitutional  Court  shall  have  jurisdic- 
tion over  such  provisions  of  this  committee  that 
under  ordinary  circumstances  would  require  the  enact- 
ment of  legislation  and  therefore  all  such  provisions 
shall  be  laid  before  it  by  the  Government  simulta- 
neously with  their  publication  in  the  record. 

14.  The  chairman  and  the  vice-chairman  of  the 
committee  shall  report  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  and  of  the  Senate  the  activities 
of  the  committee,  even  if  meanwhile  their  terms  of 
office  as  members  of  Parliament  shall  have  expired. 

15.'  Provisions  not  approved  by  both  chambers 
within  two  months  after  their  first  session  shall  lose 
their  validity. 

Section  III 

GOVERNMENTAL  AND  EXECUTIVE  POWERS 

§55 
Decree  shall  be  issued  only  for  the  execution  and 
within  the  Hmitations  of  each  specific  law. 

I52I 


427 

President  of  the  Republic 
I 

§56 

1.  The  President  of  the  Repubhc  shall  be  elected 
by  the  National  Assembly  (§38). 

2.  Any  citizen  of  the  Czccho-Slovak  Republic, 
eligible  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  not  less  than 
thirty- five  years  of  age,  may  be  elected  President  of  the 
Republic  (§  67). 

§57 

1.  The  election  shall  be  valid  only  if  half  of  all 
members  of  both  chambers  shall  be  present  and  if  a 
majority  of  three-fifths  of  those  present  shall  be 
obtained. 

2.  Should  two  ballots  produce  no  results,  a  third 
ballot  shall  be  cast  to  decide  between  those  two  candi- 
dates who  at  the  previous  balloting  obtained  the 
greatest  number  of  votes.  The  candidate  who  obtains 
the  largest  number  of  votes  shall  be  elected.  In  the 
case  of  a  tie,  the  decision  shall  be  made  by  lot. 

3.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

§58 

1.  The  period  of  ofhce  shall  be  counted  from  the 
day  when  the  new  President  takes  his  oath  according 
to  §  65. 

2.  The  term  of  ofhce  shall  be  seven  years. 

3.  Elections  shall  be  held  during  the  last  four 
weeks  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  President's  term 
of  office. 

4.  No  one  shall  be  elected  more  than  twice  in  suc- 
cession. He  who  has  been  elected  President  twice  in 
succession  cannot  again  be  elected  until  the  expira- 

I53] 


428 

tion  of  seven  years  from  his  last  term  of  office.  This 
provision,  however,  does  not  apply  to  the  first  Presi- 
dent of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic. 

5.  The  President  remains  in  office  until  his  suc- 
cessor shall  be  elected. 

§59 

Should  the  President  die  or  resign  his  position 
during  his  term  of  office,  a  new  election  shall  be  held 
according  to  §§56  and  57.  The  President  so  elected 
shall  serve  seven  years.  The  National  Assembly  shall 
be  convened  for  this  purpose  within  fourteen  days 

(§38). 

§60 

Until  a  new  President  is  elected  (§  59),  or  should  the 
President  be  unable  to  execute  the  duties  of  his  office, 
the  execution  of  his  functions  shall  appertain  to  the 
Government,  which  may  invest  the  Prime  Minister 
with  the  specific  functions. 

§61 

1.  Should  the  President  be  unable  to  execute  the 
duties  of  his  office  for  more  than  six  months  (§  60), 
and  should  the  Government  in  the  presence  of  three- 
quarters  of  its  members  so  decide,  the  National 
Assembly  (§  38)  shall  elect  a  Vice-president  who  shall 
remain  in  office  until  the  President  shall  be  able  to 
resume  his  functions. 

2.  Disqualifications  for  presidential  office  (§  58) 
shall  apply  to  the  office  of  Vice-president. 

§62 

The  same  provisions  as  to  the  election  of  the  Presi- 
dent shall  apply  to  the  election  of  the  Vice-president. 

[54] 


429 

§63 

1.  The  President  of  the  RepubUc  shall  not  be  at  the 
same  time  a  member  of  Parliament.  Should  a  mem- 
ber be  elected  Vice-president,  he  shall  not  during  his 
service  as  Vice-president  fulfil  his  mandate  as  member 
of  Parliament. 

2.  The  President's  official  residence  shall  be  in 
Prague. 

II 

§64 
I.   The  rights  and  duties  of  the  President  of  the 
Republic  are  as  follows: 

(a)  He  shall  represent  the  State  in  its  relations 
with  other  States,  shall  negotiate  and  ratify 
international  treaties.  Commercial  treaties, 
and  treaties  which  for  the  State  or  its  citizens 
entail  financial  or  personal  burdens,  especially 
military  burdens,  as  well  as  treaties  affecting 
the  territories  of  the  State  require  the  affirma- 
tion of  Parliament.  The  affirmation  of  Parlia- 
ment takes  the  form  of  a  Constitutional  Law 
(Article  i  of  the  Introductory  Law) ; 

(b)  He  shall  receive  and  appoint  diplomatic  repre- 
sentatives; 

(c)  He  shall  declare  the  existence  of  a  state  of  war, 
shall  declare  war  with  the  previous  consent  of 
Parliament  and  shall  lay  before  Parliament  for 
approval  peace  treaties  which  have  been  con- 
cluded ; 

(d)  He  shall  convoke,  prorogue  and  dissolve 
Parliament  (§§  28-31)  and  shall  proclaim  its 
sessions  at  an  end ; 

[55] 


430 

(e)  He  shall  have  the  right  to  return  with  com- 
ment any  law  enacted  by  Parliament  (§  47). 
He  shall  sign  all  laws  enacted  by  Parliament 
(§51),  all  laws  enacted  by  the  Diet  of  Car- 
pathenian  Ruthenia  (§  3)  and  the  ordinances 
of  the  committee  of  twenty-four  (§54); 

(/)  He  shall  report  verbally  or  in  writing  to  the 
National  Assembly  on  the  state  of  the  Republic, 
and  shall  recommend  for  consideration  meas- 
ures which  he  deems  necessary  and  useful ; 

(g)  He  shall  appoint  and  dismiss  Cabinet  ministers 
and  define  their  number; 

(h)  He  shall  nominate  university  professors, 
judges,  all  state  officials  and  army  officers  of 
the  sixth  class  upward; 

(/)  He  shall  grant  donations  and  pensions  in  special 
cases  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Government ; 

(j)  He  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  armed 
forces  of  the  Republic; 

(k)    He  shall  grant  pardon  as  per  §  103. 

2.  All  governmental  and  executive  power,  in  so  far 
as  it  does  not  or  shall  not  explicitly  appertain  to  the 
President  according  to  the  Constitutional  Charter 
and  the  laws  adopted  after  November  15th,  1918, 
shall  be  reserved  to  the  Government  (§  70). 

Ill 

§65 

The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  take  an  oath 
before  the  National  Assembly  (§  38)  on  his  honor 
and  conscience  to  look  to  the  welfare  of  the  Republic 
and  its  people,  and  to  abide  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws. 

[56I 


431 


§66 

The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  not  be  answer- 
able at  law  in  the  exercise  of  his  functions.  The 
Government  shall  be  answerable  for  all  the  President's 
ofhcial  utterances. 

§67 

1.  He  may  be  prosecuted  only  for  high  treason 
before  the  Senate  upon  an  indictment  found  against 
him  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  (§34).  The  only 
punishment  shall  be  the  loss  of  his  office  and  per- 
manent disqualification  for  the  presidency. 

2.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

§60 
Every  governmental  or  executive  act  (jf  the  Presi- 
dent shall  also  bear  the  signature  of  the  member  of 
the  Government  responsible  for  its  execution. 

§69 
The  same  provisions  shall  apply  to  the  Vice-presi- 
dent that  apply  to  the  President  of  the  Republic. 

THE  GOVERNMENT 

§70 

1.  The  Prime  Minister  and  other  ministers  of  the 
Government  shall  be  appointed  and  dismissed  by  the 
President  of  the  Republic. 

2.  The  official  seat  of  the  Government  shall  be  in 
Prague  (§6,  No.  2). 

§71 
The    Government    shall    choose    from    among    the 
members    a    deputy    Prime    Minister.     Should    this 

[57] 


432 


deputy  fail  to  attend,  he  shall  be  represented  by  the 
oldest  member  of  the  Government. 

§72 
The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  determine  as 
to   which   member   of    the    Government   shall    direct 
each  department. 

The  members  of  the  Government  shall  take  an 
oath  before  the  President  on  their  honor  and  con- 
science that  they  will  conscientiously  and  impartially 
perform  their  duties  and  abide  by  the  Constitution 
and  other  laws  of  the  Republic. 

§74 
No  member  of  the  Government  shall  be  a  member  of 
the  board   of  directors  or   controllers  or  a  represen- 
tative of  any  limited  liability  company,  carrying  on  a 
business  for  profit. 

§75 

The  Government  shall  be  responsible  to  the  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies,  which  may  vote  its  lack  of  confidence 
in  the  Government.  Such  a  vote  shall  be  valid  if  more 
than  half  of  all  the  members  are  present,  if  a  50  per 
cent,  majority  be  obtained,  and  if  the  vote  be  taken 
by  roll  call. 

§76 

Every  motion  for  a  vote  of  lack  of  confidence  shall 
be  signed  by  not  less  than  a  hundred  deputies  and 
shall  be  referred  to  a  committee  which  must  report 
thereon  within  eight  days. 

The   Government   ma\'   bring   forward   before   the 

I58] 


433 

Chamber  of  Deputies  a  proposal  for  a  vote  of  con- 
fidence. Such  proposal  shall  be  acted  upon  without 
being  referred  to  a  committee. 

§78 

1.  Should  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  vote  lack  of 
confidence  in  the  Government  or  should  it  reject  the 
Government's  proposal  for  a  vote  of  confidence,  the 
Government  shall  resign  to  the  President.  The  Presi- 
dent shall  then  determine  who  shall  direct  Govern- 
ment affairs  until  a  new  Government  be  formed. 

2.  Should  the  Government  resign  at  a  time  when 
there  is  no  President  or  Vice-president,  the  decision 
as  to  the  resignation  and  as  to  the  direction  of  Govern- 
ment affairs  shall  be  referred  to  the  committee 
defined  under  §  54. 

§79 

1 .  Should  the  Prime  Minister  or  any  other  member 
of  the  Government  either  consciously  or  from  gross 
neglect  violate  the  Constitution  or  other  laws  while  act- 
ing in  his  official  capacity,  he  shall  be  responsible  at  law. 

2.  The  right  of  prosecution  shall  be  reserved  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  (§34).  The  trial  shall  be  con- 
ducted by  the  Senate. 

3.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

§80 

The  Government  shall  be  competent  to  act  as  a 
body  if  in  addition  to  the  Prime  Minister  or  his 
deputy  more  than  half  the  Ministers  be  present. 

§81 

The  Government  shall  decide  in  session: 
(a)    Government  draft   bills   for   Parliament,  Gov- 
I59] 


434 


ernment  decrees  (§  84),  as  well  as  any  pro- 
posals that  the  President  exercise  his  right 
defined  under  §  47 ; 

(b)  All  matters  of  a  political  nature; 

(c)  Appointments  of  judges,  state  officials  and 
army  officers  of  the  eighth  class  and  higher 
grades,  so  far  as  such  appointments  shall  fall 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  central  authori- 
ties; as  well  as  proposals  for  appointments  of 
officials  nominated  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic  (§  64,  No.  8). 


The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  have  the  right 
to  be  present  at  and  to  preside  over  meetings  of  the 
Government  and  to  demand  from  the  Government 
or  its  individual  members  written  reports  on  any 
matter  in  their  jurisdiction. 

§83 
The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  have  the  right 
to  call  the  Government  or  its  members  to  conference. 

§84 
Every  Government  decree  shall   be  signed    by  the 
Prime  Minister  or  his  deputy  and    the  minister  in- 
vested with  its  execution.    It  must  be  signed  by  at 
least  half  of  the  members  of  the  Government. 

MINISTRIES  AND  SUBORDIXATE  ADMINISTRATIVE 
OFFICES 

§85 

The  competence  of  ministries  shall  be  determined 
by  law. 

I60] 


435 

§86 
In  subordinate  administrative  offices   the  citizens 
must  so  far  as  possible  be  represented  and  the  widest 
protection  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  citizens 
shall  be  assured. 

§87 

1.  No  one  may  hold  at  the  same  time  an  elective 
subordinate  office  and  an  office  which  has  jurisdiction 
over  the  former. 

2.  Exceptions  to  this  rule  shall  be  determined  by 
law. 

§88 

1.  A  court  composed  of  independent  judges,  hav- 
ing jurisdiction  throughout  the  Republic,  shall  hear 
final  appeals  for  protection  against  administrative 
rulings. 

2.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

§89 
The  lower  offices  of  state  administration  shall    be 
defined  in  principle   by  law,  the   detail   execution  of 
which  may  be  regulated  by  decrees  in  council. 

§90 

State  offices  charged  with  financial  functions  but 
without  executive  power  shall  be  established  and 
organized  by  government  decrees. 

§91 
The  constitution  and  competence  of  local  autono- 
mous governing  bodies  shall  be  determined  by  special 
laws. 

[61] 


436 

§92 

Special  laws  shall  provide  for  the  guarantee  by  the 
State  against  damages  caused  by  unlawful  execution 
of  public  offices. 

§93 

State  officials  in  their  official  functions  shall  abide 
by  the  Constitution  and  other  laws.  The  same  shall 
apply  to  non-official  members  of  administrative 
bodies. 

Section  IV 

JUDICIAL  POWERS 

§94 

1.  The  law  shall  be  administered  by  public  law 
courts  whose  organization,  jurisdiction  and  procedure 
shall  be  regulated  by  law. 

2.  No  one  shall  be  tried  other  than  before  his  legal 
judge. 

3.  Only  in  cases  of  criminal  procedure  may  courts 
be  established  for  a  limited  period  in  cases  specified 
in  advance  by  law. 

§95 

1.  Jurisdiction  in  civil  matters  shall  be  reserved 
to  civil  courts,  either  ordinary  or  extraordinary,  and 
courts  of  arbitration;  jurisdiction  in  criminal  matters 
shall  be  reserved  to  public  criminal  courts,  so  far  as 
it  shall  not  be  reserved  by  special  law  for  courts 
martial  or  so  far  as  these  matters  cannot  be  dealt 
with  according  to  general  regulations  in  police  or 
financial  prosecutions. 

2.  A  single  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  shall  be 
established  for  the  whole  Czecho-Slovak  Republic. 

1 62] 


437 

3-  The  competence  and  functions  of  juries  shall  be 
determined  by  special  laws. 

4.  Trial  by  jury  may  be  temporarily  suspended  in 
cases  provided  for  by  law. 

5.  The  jurisdiction  of  courts  martial  may  be  ex- 
tended to  the  civil  population  according  to  legal  regu- 
lations in  times  of  war  only  and  for  acts  committed 
at  such  times  only. 

§96 

1.  Judicial  power  in  all  courts  shall  be  separated 
from  administrative  power. 

2.  Solution  of  disputes  as  to  competence  between 
courts  and  administrative  authorities  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  law. 

§97 

1.  Conditions  as  to  the  qualification  of  judges  shall 
be  determined  by  law. 

2.  The  conditions  of  service  of  the  judges  shall  be 
determined  by  law. 

§98 

1.  All  judges  shall  be  independent  in  the  exercise 
of  their  conscience  and  they  shall  be  bound  only  by 
law. 

2.  When  taking  the  oath  of  office  judges  shall  pledge 
themselves  to  abide  by  the  law. 

§99 
I.  Judges  shall  be  appointed  permanently;  they 
may  be  transferred,  dismissed  or  pensioned  against 
their  will,  only  if  a  new  juridical  organization  be  set 
up  for  a  time  specified  by  law  or  on  the  grounds  of 
lawful  disciplinary  proceedings;  they  may  be  also 
pensioned  after  a  valid  finding  when  they  have  at- 

I63I 


438 

tained  the  age  stated  by  law.  Details  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  a  special  law  which  shall  also  define  the 
conditions  under  which  judges  may  be  suspended. 

2.  Senates  at  law  courts  of  the  first  and  second  in- 
stance shall  be  permanent  for  one  year  except  where 
specified  by  law. 

§  100 

Judges  shall  not  perform  other  paid  functions  per- 
manent or  temporary,  except  where  permitted  by  law. 

§  loi 

1.  Verdicts  shall  be  given  in  the  name  of  the 
Republic. 

2.  Proceedings  before  law  courts  shall  be  verbal 
and  public.  Verdicts  in  criminal  matters  shall  always 
be  proclaimed  in  public.  The  public  may  be  excluded 
during  the  proceedings  only  under  circumstances 
defined  by  law. 

3.  In  criminal  proceedings  the  principle  of  prose- 
cution shall  be  adopted. 

§  102 

The  judges  shall  have  the  right,  in  determining  a 
point  of  law,  to  enquire  into  validity  of  a  govern- 
mental decree;  in  the  case  of  a  law  they  can  only 
enquire  as  to  whether  it  was  properly  promulgated 

(§51). 

§  103 

I.  The  President  of  the  Republic  shall  have  the 
right  to  grant  an  amnesty  or  pardons,  to  mitigate  a 
sentence  and  the  legal  consequences  of  verdicts  of 
criminal  courts,  especially  the  loss  of  the  suffrage 
right  to  the  National  Assembly  and  other  represeii- 

[64I 


439 

tative  bodies;  he  shall  also  have  the  right  to  order  the 
abolition  or  the  suspension  of  criminal  legal  proceed- 
ings with  the  exception  of  such  proceedings  in  which 
the  action  is  brought  by  private  individuals. 

2.  These  rights  shall  not  be  exercised  by  the  Presi- 
dent in  the  case  of  members  of  the  Government 
accused  or  sentenced  according  to  §  79. 

§  104 

A  special  law  shall  define  the  responsibility  of  the 
State  and  judges  for  any  damages  caused  by  the 
latters'  breach  of  right  in  performing  their  duties. 

§  105 

1.  In  cases  of  private  property  claims  coming  for 
adjudication  before  an  administrative  authority  in 
which  the  plaintiff  is  dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of 
the  latter,  he  may,  after  exhausting  corrective  efforts, 
appeal  to  the  courts. 

2.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

Section  V 

RIGHTS,  LIBERTIES  AND  DUTIES  OF  THE  CITIZEN. 

EQUALITY 

§  106 

1.  Privileges  due  to  sex,  birth  or  occupation  shall 
not  be  recognized. 

2,  All  persons  residing  in  the  Czecho-Slovak  Re- 
public shall  enjoy  within  its  territory  in  equal  measure 
with  the  citizens  of  this  Republic  complete  and  abso- 
lute security  of  life  and   liberty  without   regard   to 

I65] 


440 

origin,  nationality,  language,  race  or  religion.  Excep- 
tions to  this  principle  may  be  made  only  so  far  as  is 
compatible  with  international  law. 

3.  Only  such  titles  may  be  conferred  as  designate 
official  rank  or  a  profession.  This  enactment  in  no 
way  affects  academic  honors. 


PERSONAL  FREEDOM  AND  FREEDOM  OF  PROPERTY 

1.  Personal  freedom  shall  be  guaranteed.  Details 
shall  be  laid  down  by  an  enactment  which  shall  form 
part  of  this  Constitutional  Charter. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  deprived  of  personal  liberty 
or  restricted  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  same  except  upon 
legal  grounds.  Public  authorities  can  demand  per- 
sonal services  from  a  citizen  only  on  legal  grounds. 

§108 

1.  Every  citizen  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  State  may 
take  up  his  abode  wheresoever  he  will  in  the  Czecho- 
slovak Republic,  may  acquire  there  real  property  and 
carry  on  any  calling  for  the  purpose  of  earning  profits 
within  the  limits  of  the  law. 

2.  This  right  shall  only  sufTer  restriction  in  the 
public  interests  and  on  the  basis  of  law. 

§  109 

1.  Private  ownership  may  be  restricted  only  by  law. 

2.  Expropriation  is  possible  only  on  the  basis  of 
law.  Compensation  shall  be  given  in  all  cases  unless 
it  is  or  shall  be  provided  by  law  that  no  compensation 
be  given. 

[66] 


441 

§  no 

The  right  to  emigrate  abroad   may   be   restricted 
only  by  law. 

§  III 

1.  Taxation  and  public  levies  generally  may  be  im- 
posed only  by  law. 

2.  Likewise  only  by  law  may  fines  and  iJunishments 
be  prescribed  and  imposed. 

DOMESTIC  LIBERTY 
§  112 

1.  Domestic  rights  are  inviolable. 

2.  Details  shall  be  laid  down  by  a  law  which  shall 
form  part  of  this  Constitutional  Charter. 


FREEDOM  OF  THE  PRESS,  THE  RIGHT  OF  FREE 
ASSEMBLY  AND  ASSOCIATION 

§  113 

1.  Freedom  of  the  press  as  well  as  the  right  to 
assemble  peaceably  and  without  arms  and  to  form 
associations  is  guaranteed.  It  is  therefore  in  principle 
inadmissible  to  place  the  press  under  preliminary* 
censorship.  The  manner  in  which  the  right  of  form- 
ing associations  and  the  right  of  free  assembly  shall 
be  exercised  shall  be  determined  by  law. 

2.  An  association  may  be  dissolved  only  when  its 
conduct  violates  the  law  of  the  land  or  disturbs  public 
peace  and  order. 

*  Under  the  Austrian  regime  publications  were  submitted  to  the  censor 
before  being  issued. 

[67] 


442 


3-  Restrictions  may  be  imposed  by  law  especially 
in  cases  of  assembly  in  places  which  serve  as  public 
thoroughfares,  in  cases  of  the  establishment  of  asso- 
ciations for  the  purpose  of  profit,  and  in  cases  of  the 
participation  of  foreigners  in  political  associations. 
The  law  shall  also  state  what  restrictions  shall  be 
placed  on  the  principles  of  the  foregoing  paragraphs 
in  time  of  war  or  in  case  of  events  taking  place  within 
the  State  seriously  threatening  the  republican  form 
of  government,  the  Constitution  or  public  peace  and 
order. 

§  114 

1.  The  right  of  association  to  safeguard  and 
ameliorate  conditions  of  employment  and  economic 
conditions  shall  be  guaranteed. 

2.  All  acts  of  individuals  or  societies  which  con- 
stitute an  intentional  violation  of  this  right  are 
prohibited. 

THE  RIGHT  OF  PETITION 

The  right  to  petition  shall  be  enjoyed  by  every 
person.  Legal  persons  and  corporations  shall  en- 
joy this  right  only  within  the  bounds  of  their  compe- 
tence. 


POSTAL  INVIOLABILITY 
§116 

1.  Inviolability  of  matter  entrusted  to  the  mail  is 
guaranteed. 

2.  Details  shall  be  determined  by  enactment. 

[681 


443 

LIBERTY  OF  INSTRUCTION  AND  OF  CONSCIENCE 
LIBERTY  OF  EXPRESSING  OPINION 

§  117 

1.  Every  person  may  within  the  limits  of  the  law- 
express  his  or  her  opinion  by  word,  in  writing,  in  print, 
by  picture,  etc. 

2.  The  same  applies  to  legal  persons  within  the 
limits  of  their  competence. 

3.  No  one  shall  sutler  in  the  sphere  of  his  work  or 
employment  for  exercising  this  right. 

§118 

Scientific  research  and  the  publication  of  its  results, 
as  well  as  art,  is  free  so  far  as  it  does  not  violate  the 
penal  code. 

§  119 
Public  instruction  shall  be  given  so  as  not  to  be  in 
conflict  with  the  results  of  scientific  investigation. 

§  120 

1.  Private  establishments  for  instruction  and  edu- 
cation are  permitted  to  be  set  up  only  within  the  limits 
of  the  law. 

2.  The  supreme  authority  and  control  over  all 
instruction  and  education  shall  be  in  the  hands  of  the 
State. 

§  121 

Liberty  of  conscience  and  religious  creed  is  guaran- 
teed. 

§  122 

All  inhabitants  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  enjoy 
in  the  same  degree  as  the  citizens  of  the  Republic  the 

I69] 


444 

right  to  profess  and  exercise  publicly  and  privately 
any  creed,  religion  or  faith  whatsoever,  so  far  as  the 
exercise  of  the  same  is  not  in  conflict  with  public  law 
and  order  or  with  morality. 

§  123 

No  one  shall  be  compelled  either  directly  or  indi- 
rectly to  take  part  in  any  religious  rite  or  ceremony 
whatsoever,  rights  pertaining  to  paternal  or  guardian 
authority  being  nevertheless  respected. 

§  124 

All  religious  confessions  shall  be  equal  before  the 
law. 

§  125 

The  performance  of  specific  religious  rites  may  be 
prohibited  if  they  are  in  conflict  with  public  order  or 
public  morals. 

MARRIAGE  AND  FAMILY 
§  126 

Wedlock,  family  and  motherhood  shall  be  under  the 
special  protection  of  the  law. 

MILITARY    SERVICE 

§  127 

1.  Every  able-bodied  citizen  of  the  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic  shall  undergo  military  training  and  shall 
obey  the  summons  when  called  upon  for  the  defence 
of  the  State. 

2.  Details  shall  be  settled  by  enactment. 

I70] 


445 
Section  VI 

PROTECTION  OF  NATIONAL,  RELIGIOUS  AND 
RACIAL  MINORITIES 

§128 

1.  All  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  shall 
be  in  all  respects  equal  before  the  law  and  shall  enjoy 
equal  civic  and  political  rights  whatever  be  their  race, 
their  language  or  their  religion. 

2.  Difference  in  religion,  belief,  confession  or  lan- 
guage shall  within  the  limits  of  the  common  law  con- 
stitute no  obstacle  to  any  citizen  of  the  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic,  particularly  in  regard  to  entry  into  the  pub- 
lic services  and  offices,  of  attainment  to  any  promotion 
or  dignity,  or  in  regard  to  the  exercise  of  any  trade  or 
calling. 

3.  Citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  may, 
within  the  limits  of  the  common  law,  freely  use  any 
language  they  choose  in  private  and  business  inter- 
course, in  all  matters  pertaining  to  religion,  in  the 
press  and  in  all  publications  whatsoever,  or  in  public 
assemblies. 

4.  This,  however,  does  not  affect  the  rights  con- 
ferred on  the  state  organs  in  these  matters  by  laws 
already  in  force  or  to  be  passed  in  the  future  with  a 
view  to  public  order,  the  security  of  the  State  or 
effective  control. 

§  129 

The  principles  on  which  the  rights  as  to  language 
in  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  are  based  shall  be 
determined  by  a  special  enactment  which  shall  form 
part  of  this  Constitutional  Charter. 

I71] 


446 

§I30 
In  so  far  as  citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic 
are  entitled  by  the  common  law  to  establish,  manage 
and  administer  at  their  own  cost  philanthropic, 
religious,  or  social  institutions,  they  are  all  equal,  no 
matter  what  be  their  nationality,  language,  religion 
or  race  and  may,  in  such  institutions,  make  use  of 
their  own  language  and  worship  according  to  their 
own  religious  ceremonies. 

§  131 

In  towns  and  districts  in  which  there  lives  a  con- 
siderable fraction  of  Czecho-Slovak  citizens  speaking 
a  language  other  than  Czecho-Slovak,  the  children  of 
such  Czecho-Slovak  citizens  shall,  in  public  instruction 
and  within  the  bounds  of  the  general  regulations 
relating  thereto,  be  guaranteed  a  due  opportunity  to 
receive  instruction  in  their  own  tongue.  The  Czecho- 
slovak language  at  the  same  time  may  be  prescribed 
as  a  compulsory  subject  of  instruction. 

§  132 

In  towns  and  districts  where  there  is  living  a  con- 
siderable fraction  of  Czecho-Slovak  citizens  belonging 
to  some  minority,  whether  in  respect  of  religion,  or 
nationality,  or  language,  and  where  specific  sums  of 
money  from  public  funds  are  set  out  in  the  state  budget 
or  in  the  budget  of  local  or  other  public  authorities 
to  be  devoted  to  education,  religion,  or  philanthropy, 
a  due  share  in  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  such  sums 
shall  be  secured  to  such  minorities  within  the  limits  of 
the  general  regulations  for  public  administration. 

I  72] 


447 


§  133 
The  method  of  carrying  out  the  principles  embodied 
in  §§  131  and  132  and  especially  the  interpretation  to 
be  assigned  to  the  expression  "considerable  fraction" 
shall  be  determined  by  special  enactment. 

§  134 
Every  manner  whatsoever  of  forcible  denationaliza- 
tion is  prohibited.    Non-observance  of  this  principle 
may  be  proclaimed  by  law  to  be  a  punishable  act. 

Follow  the  signatures: 
T.  G.  Masaryk         Tusar         Stanek         Houdek 


i:!> 


448 


AN  ACT 
DATED  THE  29TH  OF  FEBRUARY  1920 
IN  PURSUANCE  OF  §  129  OF  THE  CONSTITU- 
TIONAL  CHARTER  ESTABLISHING  THE 

PRINCIPLES  OF  LANGUAGE  RIGHTS 
WITHIN  THE  CZECHO-SLOVAK  REPUBLIC 


The  Czecho-SIovak  language  shall  be  the  state,  offi- 
cial language  of  the  Republic  (Article  7  of  the  Treaty 
made  between  the  leading  Allied  and  Associated 
Powers  and  the  Czecho-SIovak  Republic  and  signed  at 
St.  Germain-en-Laye  on  the  loth   September  1919). 

It  is  thus  in  particular  the  language: 

1.  In  which  the  work  of  all  the  courts,  offices,  in- 
stitutions, undertakings  and  organs  of  the  Republic 
shall  be  conducted,  in  which  they  shall  issue  their 
proclamations  and  notices  as  well  as  their  inscriptions 
and  designations.  (Exceptions  to  this  section  are  laid 
down  in  §  2  and  §  5  as  well  as  in  §  6  relating  to  Rus- 
sinia.) 

2.  In  which  the  principal  text  on  state  and  other 
banknotes  shall  be  printed. 

3.  Which  the  armed  forces  of  the  country  shall  use 
for  the  purpose  of  command  and  as  the  language  of 
the  service;  in  dealings  with  men  and  companies  not 

I  74] 


449 

knov/ing  this  language  their  mother  tongue  may  also 
be  used. 

Detailed  regulations  will  be  issued  as  to  the  duty  of 
state  officials  and  employees,  as  well  as  of  officials 
and  employees  of  state  institutions  and  undertakings 
to  know  the  Czecho-Slovak  language. 

§2 

In  respect  of  national  and  language  minorities 
(Chapter  i,  Treaty  of  St.  Germain)  the  following  rules 
shall  apply: 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  courts,  offices  and  organs  of 
the  Republic  whose  competence  relates  to  a  juris- 
dictional district  in  which  according  to  the  latest 
census  at  least  20  per  cent  of  the  citizens  speak  the 
same  language — and  that  a  language  other  than 
Czecho-Slovak — to  accept  (in  all  matters  which  they 
have  to  settle  on  the  ground  of  their  competence 
applying  to  such  a  district)  from  any  member  of  this 
minority  any  plaints  in  this  language  and  to  deal 
with  plaints  not  only  in  the  Czecho-Slovak  language 
but  also  in  that  in  which  the  plaint  itself  is  presented. 
Where  there  are  several  district  courts  in  one  commun- 
ity that  whole  community  shall  be  deemed  to  be  a 
single  jurisdictional  district. 

It  shall  be  laid  down  by  regulation  to  what  extent 
and  for  what  courts  and  offices  it  will  be  possible  to 
restrict  the  settlement  of  cases  to  the  language  of  the 
parties  themselves.  These  courts  and  offices  are  those 
whose  competence  is  limited  to  one  district,  namely 
a  district  with  such  a  national  minority,  as  well  as 
courts  and  offices  immediately  subordinate  to  them. 

Under  similar  conditions  it  is  the  duty  of  the  public 
prosecutor  to  frame   the  charges  against  an  accused 

I75] 


450 

speaking  another  tongue  in  this  language  too,  or  even 
in  this  language  alone. 

The  executive  authority  shall  determine  in  such 
cases  what  language  shall  be  used. 

If  the  party  to  any  matter  is  not  the  initiator  of  the 
proceedings,  he  shall  (if  the  other  conditions  of  §  2  are 
fulfilled)  be  entitled  on  the  same  principles  to  have 
his  case  dealt  with  also  in  his  own  language,  or  even 
in  it  alone  so  far  as  it  is  known,  or  otherwise  at  his 
request. 

In  districts  where  there  lives  a  national  minority 
in  the  terms  of  §  2  the  language  of  the  national  minor- 
ity shall  be  used  concurrently  with  the  Czecho-Slovak 
language  in  proclamations  and  notices  issued  by  the 
state  courts,  offices  and  organs  and  for  their  inscrip- 
tions and  designations. 

§3 

It  is  the  duty  of  autonomous  offices,  representative 
councils  and  all  public  corporations  in  the  state  what- 
soever to  accept  and  to  deal  with  oral  or  written  mat- 
ter in  the  Czecho-Slovak  language. 

It  shall  always  be  possible  to  make  use  of  this 
language  in  meetings  and  conferences;  proposals  and 
suggestions  put  forward  in  this  language  must  be 
dealt  with. 

The  state  executive  authority  shall  determine  upon 
the  language  to  be  used  for  public  proclamations  and 
notices  and  for  the  inscriptions  and  designations  for 
which  the  autonomous  offices  are  responsible. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  autonom.ous  offices,  representa- 
tive councils  and  public  corporations  to  accept — 
under  the  conditions  of  §  2 — all  matters  presented  to 
them  in  a  language  other  than  Czecho-Slovak  and  to 

[76] 


451 


deal  with  the  same,  and  also  to  permit  the  use  of 
another  language  in  meetings  and  conferences. 

§4 
The  state  ofBces,  using  the  state,  official  language, 
shall,  in  their  official  proceedings  in  those  parts  of  the 
Republic  which  before  the  28th  of  October  1918  per- 
tained to  the  kingdoms  and  lands  represented  in  the 
Imperial  (Austro-Hungarian)  Council  or  to  the  King- 
dom of  Prussia,  use  regularly  the  Czech  language,  in 
Slovakia  regularly  the  Slovak  language. 

Matters  presented  in  the  Czech  language  and  of- 
ficially dealt  with  in  Slovak  or  presented  in  Slovak 
and  dealt  with  in  Czech  shall  be  deemed  to  have  been 
dealt  with  in  the  language  in  which  they  were  pre- 
sented. 

§5 
The  Instruction  in  all  schools  established  for  mem- 
bers of  a  national  minority  shall  be  given  in  their 
language.  Likewise  educational  and  cultural  institu- 
tions set  up  for  them  shall  be  administered  in  their 
language.    (Article  9,  Treaty  of  St.  Germain.) 

§6 

The  Diet  which  shall  be  set  up  for  Russinia  shall 
have  the  right  reserved  to  it  of  settling  the  language 
question  for  this  territory  in  a  manner  consonant 
with  the  unity  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  State.  (Article  10, 
Treaty  of  St.  Germain.) 

Until  this  settlement  has  been  made  this  law  shall 
apply,  due  regard,  however,  being  paid  to  the  special 
circumstances  of  that  territory  in  respect  of  language. 


452 

§7 
Disputes  regarding  the  use  of  a  language  in  the 
courts,  offices,  institutions,  undertakings  and  organs 
of  the  state  as  well  as  in  the  autonomous  offices  and 
public  corporations  shall  be  settled  by  the  competent 
organs  of  state  control  as  matters  of  state  administra- 
tion detached  from  the  causes  out  of  which  they 
arose. 

§8 

Details  as  to  the  carrying  out  of  this  law  shall  be 
fixed  by  the  state  executive  authority  which  will,  in 
the  spirit  of  this  law,  lay  down  rules  regulating  the 
use  of  languages  for  autonomous  offices,  representative 
bodies,  and  public  corporations  as  well  as  for  those 
offices  and  public  organs  whose  competence  extends 
to  districts  which  are  less  than  jurisdictional  dis- 
tricts, or  organs  which  have  no  district  of  their  own. 

The  rules  shall  also  prescribe  what  measures  shall 
be  taken  towards  facilitating  the  dealings  of  officials 
with  persons  who  do  not  speak  the  language  in  which 
the  court,  office  or  organ  conducts  its  business  in  the 
sense  of  this  law.  They  shall  also  prescribe  the  meas- 
ures to  be  taken  to  protect  the  different  parties  from 
legal  damage  which  might  accrue  to  them  from  igno- 
rance of  the  language  in  question. 

Exceptions  to  the  terms  of  this  act  necessary  for 
securing  undisturbed  administration  may  also  be 
made  by  regulation  for  the  period  of  five  years  com- 
mencing from  the  day  on  which  this  law  comes  into 
force. 

Finally,  rules  shall  be  laid  down  which  are  essential 
for  securing  the  successful  carrying  out  of  this  law. 

[78] 


453 


§9 
This  law  shall  come  into  force  on  the  day  on  which 
it   is  promulgated.    It  abrogates  all  rules  relating  to 
language  which  were  in  force  previous  to  the  28th  of 
October  191 8. 

All  the  Ministers  are  entrusted  with  the  execution 
of  this  law. 

T.  G.  Masaryk     Prasek 
TusAR  Vesely 

Stanek  KlofaC 

HOUDEK  He  IDLER 

Bene§  Winter 

SONNTAG  FrANKE 

Habrman  Hampl 


79] 


454 


VI 


ACT  OF  THE  29TH  OF  FEBRUARY  1920 

SETTING  FORTH  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND 

JURISDICTION  OF  THE  SENATE 


Section  I 

THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  SENATE 
§1 

The  Senate  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  shall 
consist  of  150  elected  members.  No  one  may  be  at 
the  same  time  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
and  of  the  Senate. 

If  the  elections  to  the  one  chamber  follow  within 
four  weeks  at  the  latest  after  the  elections  to  the 
other,  no  one  may  stand  as  candidate  for  both  cham- 
bers. The  election  of  a  candidate  in  defiance  of  this 
enactment  is  invalid. 

Anyone  who,  in  any  other  case  than  that  just  re- 
ferred to,  being  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Depu- 
ties, is  elected  senator,  or  vice  versa,  being  a  member 
of  the  Senate,  is  elected  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
shall  take  his  seat  in  that  chamber  to  which  he  has 
been  last  elected. 

§2 

The  rules  of  franchise  laid  down  for  elections  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies  shall  be  applicable  to  elections 

[80] 


455 

for  the  Senate  except  in  such  cases  as  this  law  other- 
wise provides. 

§3 
All  citizens  who  have  the  right  to  vote  at  elections 
to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  are  entitled  to  vote  at 
elections  to  the  Senate  if  they  have  attained  on  the 
day  of  the  publication  of  the  standing  lists  of  voters 
(Law  of  19th  December  191 9,  No.  663  in  the  Code  of 
Laws  and  Regulations)  the  age  of  twenty-six  years. 

§4 
Citizens  of  the  Czecho-Slovak  Republic  without 
regard  to  sex  may  be  elected  to  the  Senate  if,  on  the 
day  of  election  they  have  attained  the  age  of  forty-five 
years,  have  been  for  at  least  ten  years  citizens  of  the 
Czecho-Slovak  Republic  and  are  not  excluded  from  the 
franchise.  For  elections  which  shall  take  place  up  to 
the  end  of  the  year  1928  this  condition  of  ten  years' 
citizenship  shall  not  be  required. 

§5 
The  Senate  shall  be  elected  for  a  period  of  eight 
years. 

§6 

If  the  elections  to  the  Senate  take  place  within  four 
weeks  at  the  latest  of  the  day  on  which  the  elections 
to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  took  place  the  polling 
committees  of  the  constituencies  and  the  central 
polling  committee  which  were  in  charge  of  the  elec- 
tions to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  shall  also  take  charge 
of  the  elections  to  the  Senate. 

Representatives  of  parties  who  have  not  put  for- 
I81] 


456 

ward  valid  lists  of  candidates  for  the  Senate  may  not 
be  members  of  these  committees;  on  the  contrary 
these  committees  shall  be  composed  of  representatives 
of  those  parties  which  put  fonvard  no  candidates  for 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies  but  presented  valid  lists  of 
candidates  for  the  Senate.  Paragraphs  9  and  li  of 
the  rules  of  franchise  for  the  Chamber  of  Deputies 
are  to  be  applied  in  this  matter. 

Except  in  the  case  stated  in  Par.  i  the  polling  com- 
mittees of  the  constituencies  and  the  central  polling 
committee  must  be  constituted  anew. 

§7 

In  every  constituency  which  elects  members  to  the 
Senate  a  district  polling  committee  .shall  be  set  up. 
The  rules  of  franchise  for  elections  to  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  relating  to  district  polling  committees 
apply  by  analogy  thereto. 

A  district  polling  committee  for  elections  to  the 
Senate  has  the  same  competence  in  the  matter  of 
elections  to  the  Senate  as  a  district  polling  committee, 
set  up  in  pursuance  of  Par.  10  of  the  rules  of  franchise 
for  election  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  has  in  respect 
of  elections  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 

§8 
In  the  case  stated  in  Par.  6,  section  i ,  citizens  who  are 
not  entitled  to  vote  at  the  elections  to  the  Senate  may 
be  members  of  a  committee  which  has  charge  of  elec- 
tions to  the  Senate. 

§9 
The  constituencies  electing  senators  shall  be  com- 
posed of  constituencies  which  elect  members  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies. 

[82] 


457 

(Here  follows  an  enumeration  of  the  electoral  dis- 
tricts. There  are  in  all  13  senatorial  constituencies 
electing  respectively  23,  11,  15,  14,  15,  17,  16,  lo,  7, 
5,  9,  4  and  4  senators.) 

§  10 

If  the  Senate  be  dissolved  by  the  President  of  the 
Republic  or  if  the  term  for  which  it  was  elected  expire, 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior  shall  cause  new  elections 
to  take  place  within  sixty  days. 

§11 

The  Minister  of  the  Interior  shall  issue  to  an  elected 
senator  a  letter  of  credence  which  shall  entitle  him 
to  enter  the  Senate  and  to  take  part  in  its  proceedings. 
This  right  shall  lapse  should  the  election  of  such  a 
senator  be  declared  invalid  by  the  Electoral  Court. 

§  I- 

At  its  first  assembly  which  shall  be  opened  by  the 
Prime  Minister  and  presided  over  by  the  senior  sena- 
tor, the  Senate  shall  elect  from  ainong  its  own  mem- 
bers a  chairman  and  two  deputy  chairmen. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Senate  shall  be  regulated 
within  the  limits  of  the  law  relating  to  rules  of  pro- 
cedure, by  rules  of  procedure  determined  upon  by 
the  Senate  itself.  Until  such  rules  shall  be  determined 
upon  the  rules  of  procedure  passed  by  the  hitherto 
existing  National  Assembly  shall  remain  in  force. 

§  13 
At  the  first  assembly  of  the  Senate  and  previous  to 
the  elections  of  chairman  and  deputy  chairmen  the 
senators  shall  take  the  oath  in   the  presence  of  the 

[33] 


458 

Prime  Minister  as  provided  by  Par.  22  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Charter.  Refusal  to  take  the  oath  or  the  tak- 
ing of  it  with  reservation  shall  entail  the  immediate 
loss  by  the  member  of  his  seat  (Par.  22  of  the  Con- 
stitutional Charter). 

The  same  applies  to  senators  who  subsequently 
enter  the  Senate;  they  take  the  oath  in  the  presence 
of  the  chairman  of  the  Senate. 

§  14 

Senators  are  entitled  to  such  remuneration  as  shall 
be  fixed  by  law. 

THE  JURISDICTION  OF  THE  SENATE 
§  15 

The  Senate  shall  co-operate  in  the  exercise  of  legis- 
lative authority  as  laid  down  by  the  Constitutional 
Charter. 

§  16 

The  Senate  is  entitled  to  pass  judgment  where  an 
accusation  is  brought  by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies: 

1.  Against  the  President  of  the  Republic  for  high 
treason  (Par.  67,  Constitutional  Charter) ; 

2.  Against  members  of  the  Government  for  viola- 
tion of  constitutional  or  other  laws  (Par.  79,  Consti- 
tutional Charter). 

Section  II 

The  first  elections  to  the  Senate  of  the  Czecho-Slovak 
Republic  shall  take  place  to  the  exclusion  of  the  twelfth 
and  thirteenth  constituencies  as  well  as  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  district  of  Hlucin  from  the  seventh  constituency, 

[84I 


459 

the  district  of  Vitoraz  from  the  fifth  constituency,  the 
district  of  Valcice  from  the  sixth,  and  to  the  exchision 
of  the  territories  of  Spis  and  Orava  which  are  the 
subject  of  a  plebiscite. 

The  second  and  third  scrutinies  shall  take  place  for 
the  other  elections  without  regard  to  elections  in  these 
last-mentioned  districts. 

The  territories  excluded  from  the  first  elections 
shall,  for  the  first  period  for  which  the  Senate  is 
elected,  elect  their  senators  later  in  a  manner  which 
will  be  fixed  by  regulation. 

The  Government  shall  take  steps  to  secure  for 
legionaries  the  exercise  of  their  franchise  rights  and 
shall  assign  to  them  seats  which  may  happen  to  be 
superfluous  in  some  of  the  electoral  districts. 

Article  III 

This  law  shall  come  into  force  simultaneously  with 
the  law  which  served  as  the  Introduction  to  the 
Constitutional  Charter. 

The  execution  of  it  shall  be  entrusted  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior. 

T.  G.  Masaryk        Tusar        Stanek 


85l 


LIST  OF  PUBLICATIONS 

Nos.  i-i6s  (April,  1907,  to  August,  1921).  Including  papers  by  Baron 
d'Estournelles  de  Constant,  George  Trumbull  Ladd,  Elihu  Root,  Barrett 
Wendell,  Charles  E.  Jefferson,  Seth  Low,  John  Bassett  Moure,  William  James, 
Andrew  Carnegie,  Pope  Pius  X,  Hoinrich  Lanimasch,  Norman  Angell,  Charles 
W.  Eliot,  Sir  Oliver  Lodge,  Lord  Haldane,  Alfred  H.  Fried,  James  Bryce,  and 
others;  also  a  series  of  official  documents  dealing  with  the  European  War, 
the  League  of  Nations,  the  Peace  Conference,  and  with  several  of  the  political 
problems  resulting  from  the  War.  A  list  of  titles  and  authors  will  be  sent  on 
application. 

166.  Constitution  of  the  Permanent  Mandates  Commission;  Terms  of  the  "C" 

Mandates;  Franco-British  Convention  of  December  23,  1920;  Corre- 
spondence between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  respecting 
Economic  Rights  in  the  Mandated  Territories;  The  San  Remo  Oil 
Agreement.    September,  1921. 

167.  Present  Problems  of  the  Commonwealth  of  British  Nations:  Conference 

of  Prime  Ministers  and  Representatives  of  the  United  Kingdom,  the 
Dominions  and  India,  held  in  June,  July  and  August.    October,  1921. 

168.  Relations  between  Great  Britain  and  Ireland:  Proposals  of  British  Govern- 

ment and  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Mr.  de  Valera. 
November,  1921. 

169.  Washington  Conference  on  the  Limitation  of  Armaments.    December, 

1921. 

170.  Treaties  of  Peace  between  the  United  States  on  the  one  hand  and  Ger- 

many, Austria  and  Hungary  on  the  other.    January,  1922. 

171.  Peace  through  Conferences:    Address  delivered  by  Mr.  Lloyd  George  at 

Central  Hall,  Westminster,  London,  on  January  21,  1922,  and  text  of 
the  resolution  of  the  Supreme  Council  calling  the  Genoa  Conference. 
February,  1932. 

172.  Washington  Conference  on  the  Limitation  of  Armament.    Part  II.  Treaties 

and  Resolutions.     March,  1922. 

173-  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Lloyd  George  and  Sir  James  Craig  on  the 
Position  of  Ulster;  Articles  of  Agreement  establishing  the  Irish  Free 
State;   Irish  Free  State   (Agreement)   Bill.     April,   1922. 

174.  The  International  Chamber  of  Commerce,  by  Frederick  P.  Keppel,  Ad- 
ministrative Commissioner  for  the  United  States.     May,  1922. 

175-  The  Student  and  the  Citizen,  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address  at  Columbia 
University,  March  16,  1922,  by  James  T.  Shotwell.     June,  1922. 

176.  The  Portorose  Conference,  by  James  T.  Shotwell;  An  Account  of  the 
Portorose  Conference,  by  the  American  Obsen,'er,  Colonel  C.  B.  Smith; 
Protocols  and  Agreements  concluded  at  the  Portorose  Conference, 
November,  1021;  Agreement  concerning  Passports  and  Visas  concluded 
at  Graz,  January  27,  1022.    July,  1922. 

l^^.  Impressions  of  Berlin  in  1922,  by  Professor  Henri  Lichtenberger. 
August,  1922. 

178.    Addresses  delivered   March  I  and  S.  1922,  in  connection  with  the  Fifth 

Annual  Meeting  of  the  Cuban  Society  of  International  Law,  Havana, 

by  Cosme  de  la  Torriente.     September,  1922. 
179-    The  Constitution  of  the  Czecho-SIovak  Republic,  with  introductions  bv 

Jiri  Hoetzl  and  V.  Joachim.  October,  1922. 
Special   Bulletins:     France,  Liberator  of  Nations,  by  Charles  Downer  Hazen. 

June,   1922. 

America  and  England:  Addresses  by  the  Rt.  Hon.  Earl  Balfour  and 
Chief  Justice  Taft  at  a  dinner  in  London,  June   19,   1922,  given  by 
the  Pilgrims.   July,  1922. 
Copies  of  the  above,  so  far  as  they  can  be  spared,  will  be  sent  to  libraries 
and  educational  institutions  for  permanent  preservation  postpaid  upon  receipt 
of  a  request  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Association  for  Inter- 
national Conciliation. 

A  charge  of  five  cents  will  be  made  for  copies  sent  to  individuals.  Regular 
subscription  rate  twenty-five  cents  for  one  year,  or  one  dollar  for  five  yean. 

(86] 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION 
FOR  INTERNATIONAL  CONCILIATION 

Executive  Committee 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  Chairman 
George  Blumenthal  Alba  B.  Johnson 

Gang  Dunn  William  B.  McKinley 

Robert  A.  Franks  Dwight  W.  Morrow 

Joseph  P.  Grace  Stephen  Henry  Olin 

Secretary 
Henry  S.  Haskell 

Director  of  Interatnericayi  Division 
Peter  H.  Goldsmith 

Correspondents 

Sir  William  J.  Collins,  London,  England 
Hellmut  von  Gerlach,  Berlin,  Germany 
Edoardo  Giretti,  Bricherasio,  Italy 
Christian  L.  Lange,  Geneva,  Switzerland 
T.  MiYAOKA,  Tokio,  Japan 
Otfried  Nippold,  Saarlouis 


COUNCIL  OF  DIRECTION  OF  THE 

AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  FOR  INTERNATIONAL 

CONCILIATION 


Lyman  Abbott,  New  York 

Edwin  A.  Alderman,  Charlottesville, 

Va. 
John  R.  Alpine,  New  York 
Richard  Bartholdt,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
George  Blumenthal,  New  York 
Clifton  R.  Breckenridge,  Eureka 

Springs,  Arkansas 
WiLLi.^M  J.  Bry.\n,  Miami,  Fla. 
Theodore  E.  Burton,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  New  York 
Richard  H.  Dana,  Boston,  Mass. 
Horace  E.  Deming,  New  York 
Gano  Dunn,  New  York 
Charles  \V.  Eliot,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Austen  G.  Fox,  New  York 
Robert  A.  Franks,  Orange,  N.  J. 
John  P.  Frey,  Cincinnati,  Ohio 
Robert  Garrett,  Baltimore,  Md. 
Joseph  P.  Grace,  New  York 
William  Green,  Indi.a.napolis,  Ind. 
William  J.  Holland,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Hamilton  Holt,  New  York 
Alba  B.  Johnson,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
D.wid  Starr  Jordan,  Stanford 

University,  Cal. 
J.  H.  KiRKLAND,  Nashville,  Tenn. 
Mrs.  James  Lees  Laidl.a.w,  New  York 
Thomas  W.  Lamont,  New  York 
Adolph  Lewisohn,  New  York 
Clarence  H.  Mackay,  New  York 


Theodore  Marburg,  Baltimore,  Md. 

Brander  Matthews,  New  York 

Silas  McBee,  New  York 

George  B.  McClellan,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

William  B.  McKinley,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Andrew  J.  Montague,  Richmond,  Va. 

Mrs.  Philip  N.  Moore,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Dwight  W.  Morrow,  New  York 

W.  W.  Morrow,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Stephen  H.  Olin,    Middletown,  Conn. 

Mrs.  Percy  V.  Pennybacker,  Austin,  Texas 

Henry  S.  Pritchett,  New  York 

Ira  Remsen,  Baltimore,  Md. 

James  Ford  Rhodes,  Boston,  Mass. 

Elihu  Root,  New  York 

J.  G.  Schurman,  Pekin,  China 

James  Brown  Scott,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Charles  Hitchcock  Sherrill,  New  York 

Mrs.  Seward  A.  Simons,  So.  Pasadena,  C.\l. 

J.\MES  L.  Slayden,  San  Antonio,  Texas 

William  M.  Sloane,  Princeton,  N.  J. 

Oscar  S.  Straus,  New  York 

Mrs.  M.^.RY  Wood  Swift,  Berkeley,  Cal. 

George  W.  Taylor,  Demopolis,  Ala. 

O.  H.  TlTTMAN,  LEESBURG,  Va. 

W.  H.  ToLMAN,  Prague,  Czecho-slovakia 
Charlem.\gne  Tower,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Edward  Tuck,  Paris,  France 
George  E.  Vincent,  New  York 
William  D.  Wheelwright,  Portland,  Ore. 
Mary  E.  Woolley,  South  H.^dley,  Mass. 


